HTTYD: Ancient World
by HunterQwon
Summary: [Hiatus] Hiccup Leaves Berk. He is drawn to an unknown Island hidden by mist where he finds the remains of a kingdom.
1. Chapter 1

_Summary:_ Long ago, when Magic was real, and Dragons rose from the grave, one man took up the sword against their fiery reign of terror. But in defeating the great evil, Alduin, the warrior's trials had only just begun. Killing a Dragon God had been easy compared to what awaited him as a clan of vengeful Vampires rose against the Sun, while a seemingly immortal man desired to enslave the World, Human and Mer alike.

Finally, his trials done, he set his blade aside, and let the passages of time take him. If only it were that easy. For he is Dovhakin, one with the blood of Dragons in his veins with the power to destroy them forever by stealing their very souls from them. Dragons live for so long, yet how long does a man with several hundred Dragons souls within him have to walk the Earth?

Finally, after waiting for his death for countless centuries, he does the unthinkable and opens the gates of Oblivion, setting off the greatest war that has ever been seen. Many blamed Men for the unleashing of the Daedra upon the lands of the living, and rose against them while Men blamed the Mer for the calamity, namely the High Elves, whose greed and lust for power was unrivaled even by Men.

Seeking battle Orcs, Khajiit and Argonians joined forces against the Elves and the Men. All the while the three factions did battle against the ruthless creatures of Oblivion as well. After many years, and countless battles, the last of the Mer races and Men converged upon an open field to end the war once and for all.

With the sacrifice of many lives, the gates of Oblivion were slammed shut and forever sealed by powerful Magics that not even the tortured Dohvakin could undo. With his part in the war, the Dovhakin saw his unnaturally long life as a punishment for his sin. And so he lived on in Solitude, keeping the Ancient Knowledge of Skyrim and the Elder Races alive in his written hand. No tome he kept, however, was more precious than a single volume handcrafted in Dragon skin which held the great Words of Power. All that he had learned resided in a single, solitary book.

* * *

**Solitude**

* * *

The young woman looked at the boy in front of her, stunned at what she was hearing. "You're...you're leaving?" She asked as she felt a tightness forming in her chest, "Just like that? After everything that you've done?"

The boy, who was small, even compared the girl's own slight build, shrugged, "What else can I do?" He asked, "I can't be what they want me to be." He looked off toward where he knew their village lay, "All my life I've wanted to be just like everyone else," he said as he looked back at her, and then over his shoulder where a large black figure lay basking in the moonlight, "But I can't. Not after all I've learned from him."

The creature gave a soft, almost mournful croon, raising his great head from his paws as he nudged the boy with his blunt snout. The boy smiled down at his friend, and looked back at her, "I can't kill Dragons, Astrid...not anymore."

The girl, Astrid, sighed in understanding. The moment she had seen him with the sleek black Dragon she had already assumed the worst about him. And then, when she had run to the village to tell them of the traitor she thought she was...he showed her how wrong she was. How wrong they all were.

Through her flight with him on the young Dragon, Toothless, he had told her everything. How spending time with his friend had taught him how to beat Dragons without killing them. That the Dragons were just as scared as their people were. That they had a common enemy in the giant Dragon that slumbered on Dragon Island waiting to be fed.

"So," she tucked a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear, "Where're you gonna go?" She asked, "There aren't a lot of places that would accept this kind of situation you're in. Some might even demand that you teach them how to do it so that they can build an army of Dragon Riders."

The boy was at a loss for an answer and gestured uselessly with his arms. "I...don't really have a clue." He said, "But I can't stay here. Not when my dad expects me to go out there and slaughter an innocent creature that wouldn't harm me unless I did so first."

"It's going to die either way," Astrid sighed, "If you're not there to do it, Elder Gothi will just ask me to do it in your stead." She saw the look of shock on his face, "Hiccup, you really didn't think about that?"

"No, of course not!" Hiccup sank to his knees as he groaned in annoyance at himself. "How-How could I be so surprisingly stupid!"

Astrid knelt and placed her hand on his shoulder in comfort, "Hiccup, listen to me, we can figure this out." She said, "Dawn's still far off, so start thinking of a plan to make your dad see that we can - "

"Astrid, you don't understand," Hiccup looked up at her in defeat, "Dad hates dragons with a passion. He'd die, or see me dead before thinking about what it could mean for Vikings to ride Dragons!"

"But you're his son, surely he..." she trailed off as she realized that, despite his recent success in the arena, the son of Stoick the Vast was not considered the sanest of their tribe. And Stoick wasn't known for being a loving father until recently as well. Protective, overly so, but not loving. "Why does he hate them so much more than the rest of us?"

Hiccup sighed as he looked down at Toothless, "My mother was...taken during a raid." He said which caused her to gasp. She had no idea that had happened, but it certainly explained a great deal, "If Dad knew that we've been to the nest, then he'd stop at nothing to get there."

"And half of our tribe would be wiped out," Astrid nodded in agreement. Stoick could never know...not until they were ready to fight the massive Dragon sleeping there. "Alright, what do you want to do?"

"First of all, I have to free those Dragons down in the holding pens." He said, jerking his head in the direction of the village. "After that, there should be enough of an uproar to let me slip away without being noticed."

Astrid hugged herself as she felt a bitter cold seeping under her skin. "I still don't think you have to leave," she told him, though she knew that she wouldn't be able to change his mind, "Just promise me that you...that you won't do anything stupid, or crazy..." she bit her lip when she realized how she was probably making him feel.

"Or anything remotely that I'd normally do?" He asked with a lopsided grin.

A giggle bubbled up in her chest, "Yeah," she smiled at him, "That's exactly what I mean."

Hiccup nodded, "Can you help me with the Dragons?"

"I can try," she relented, "Just tell me what you need me to do."

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Astrid peeked around the corner of a house to make sure the coast was clear before darting across the open ground toward the training grounds where the Dragons were kept. The village was as quiet as the grave, even though dawn was nearing not a soul could be heard. As a warrioress of her tribe, Astrid had been placed on guard duty several times since her tenth year, so the girl knew quite well that with the earliest hours of the morning the guards were stepping down for what little rest the remainder of the night could bring.

Overhead she heard the rush of wind ghosting over wings as Toothless soared over her.

Hiccup's plan was a simple one. She would distract the guardsmen if there was still one around, while he and his Dragon snuck around to the main gate. Once there, he would blast the gates open, making the escape appear as a Dragon assault. It wouldn't be the first time such a thing had happened. Toothless, while still wild, had made it a habit to free any captured Dragons whenever he was taking part in a Raid.

Ghosting around the stone walls of the arena, Astrid stole a glance around the last pillar, and cursed. Snotlout, her ever present pursuer, was on guard duty. Which meant that the noxious idiot was sound asleep.

"Astrid!" Astrid yelped as Hiccup hissed at her from above. She looked up to see the boy, and his Dragon clinging to the chain roof.

"In the name of Odin, Hiccup!" She hissed right back angrily, "You've scared me enough for one night!"

"Sorry," Toothless crawled down silently to the ground, depositing his rider next to the girl. "What are we gonna do about Snotlout?" He gestured to the snoring teen by the door.

Astrid gave him one of her {Are-You-Kidding-Me} looks before flipping her braid over her shoulder, "Just watch. And don't miss your chance!"

Hiccup arched his brow as the girl sauntered over to the sleeping guard...and nearly broke out into laughter as she kicked him over with a startled yelp. "Snotloud Jorgenson, are you sleeping on watch again!?" The girl roared in absolute fury. Snotlout groaned in answer as he staggered back to his feet, unsure of what had hit him until he felt a familiar foot in his keister. "Wake up you useless son of a half-troll!"

"Astrid?!" Snotlout yelped as he finally recognized his attacker while the girl had her hands fisted at her hips. "Babe! I bet you came out to see how totally awesome I am on guard duty, huh?" Hiccup couldn't believe what he was hearing, and smacked his palm against his head whilst his cousin made an absolute ass of himself...again.

"The only thing I found _awesome _was how loud you were snoring!" Astrid snapped as she brandished a hardened fist at his head, making him quail in fear. Hiccup took the cue, and mounted back up on Toothless as they scaled the walls once more, and moved over the top of the arena. He was treated to the sounds of Snotlout's loud boasting, and a few meaty smacks as Astrid apparently did not want to hear it.

Sneaking as quietly as the large Dragon could manage, which was quite silent given his size, the two slunk their way around behind Snotlout as Astrid was hoisting the idiot up by his tunic. Toothless reared back on his hind legs as a serpentine hiss rose from his throat. Astrid then dropped Snotlout effecting a look of shock and fear as Snotlout scrambled back to his feet.

Toothless let his throat glow with his powerful flames, and roared so loudly that Astrid had no doubts that the entire village had heard him. What happened next could have only been one of the most amusing sights Astrid could remember seeing. Snotlout screamed a high, girlish squeal and bolted. He never looked back as he ran off for the safety of the trees surrounding the village, not even caring that he had possibly just left Astrid to fend for herself against the most feared Dragon known to the Viking tribes.

Toothless and Hiccup, however, wasted no time in blasting open the gates of the arena entering as the village began to stir. Astrid was right behind the pair, axe in hand, as the Night Fury charged up another blast and utterly shattered the gate of the holding pens. Astrid stepped back then as the gate was pushed open from the inside by the prized Dragon that she had been attempting to win. The Monstrous Nightmare roared as it pushed the door open and bounded for the ruined gates followed closely by the Nadder, Gronkle, and Zippleback that had been imprisoned with it.

Shouts could be heard as the Dragons made their escape. The village was now well and truly aware of what they were doing. "What now?" She found herself asking as she looked to the Rider.

Hiccup looked at her in apology, "Something I really wish I didn't have to do."

Astrid looked at him in confusion before she felt a massive impact against her left side as Toothless' tail whipped around and flung her into the stone walls of the arena. Her breath was knocked out of her in a rush as she felt her consciousness leaving her as she looked up at the saddened pair.

"I'm so sorry," she heard him saying, his voice sounding far away, "I couldn't let them think that you had a hand in this." Her vision began to fade, "If we ever see each other again, you can hit me as hard as you want." She tried to keep herself from falling unconscious, and clawed her way toward him as the Dragon began to leave.

"W-Wait!"

Hiccup looked back at her and smiled sadly, "Please don't forget me."

Finally, her eyes rolled back up into her head as she surrendered her fight.

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Several hours after dawn broke, the village was in an absolute uproar over the escape, but none more so than the chief. Stoick the Vast was certainly not in the mood for any of the mad ravings of some of the villagers claiming that they had seen a Rider on the Night Fury as it fled the scene of the escape. Not only had they lost all of their Dragons, including the prized Nightmare that was to be his son's first kill, but one of his best young warriors, Astrid Hofferson, had been injured in her attempt to stop them.

According to Gothi's scratchings, the poor girl had horrible bruising around her ribs, some of which were cracked, thanks to the Night Fury. And she had yet to regain consciousness. The only other witness to the attack was the Jorgenson boy, and Stoick still had a headache from all the embellishments the young lout had piled on, some of which was utterly impossible. There was no way that he was going to believe that he had dealt the Night Fury a mortal blow when there was no trace of blood either around the scene of the escape, or on the boy's mace.

To add insult to injury his own son was missing.

If he knew his son, and he was quite sure he did, thank you very much, he figured the boy was neck deep in trouble. Today was supposed to be his day to shine brighter than he had ever shined before. To finally become a true Viking instead of spending all of his time in the forge as a blacksmith's apprentice.

"Where did you go, boy?" Stoick asked himself as he searched the boy's room. Nothing was out of sorts. It was clean, organized even. The only thing that was missing was the boy himself. Then he noticed that the helmet he had given the boy a day earlier was sitting on his bed. His mother's helmet. "Why would he leave this behind?" He bent to pick it up, and folded piece of parchment fluttered down from inside. "What?"

He picked up the paper and unfolded it.

{_Dear Dad,_

_If you're reading this, then I'm probably long gone. There's so much I want to tell you, but so little time to write this. All that I can say for now is I can't be the son you want me to be. Not yet, anyway. All I've ever wanted to do was make you proud of me. But I kept failing every time. And when I finally started doing well in Dragon Training, I as so happy to see you smile at me like that. _

_But I only started doing well because I used tricks, and things I'd learned from Dragons against the ones we had locked up._}

Stoick wanted to stop reading it. To deny his son that he wasn't what he wanted. That he didn't care that his son had used tricks.

{_When (If) I come back, I hope I'm someone you can be proud of, whether I'm a warrior, or a whatever I turnout to be. And I hope that you'll look at me, and smile. I love you, Dad. _

_Your Son, Hiccup_.}

Stoick's knees chose then to give out as he sank down onto the boy's bed. Tears came unbidden to his eyes as he wept.

"Stoick!" Gobber's voice drifted to him from the halls as the man hobbled into the room, "Did'ya find the lad, yet?"

Stoick shook his head, and handed him the letter, "He's gone, Gobber." He sighed, "What did I do...what have I done that I'd drive my own son away from me?"

Gobber shook his head as read the note for himself, "Makes no sense it doesn't." He grumbled, "Lad was doin' fine he was, tricks or not."

"Maybe he was afraid of facing the Nightmare?" Stoick guessed, scrubbing his face tiredly, "I...maybe I should've listened more. He tried to tell me that he didn't want to fight Dragons anymore, but I - "

"Sure he did!" Gobber shouted, "Why wouldn't he!? Boy was making a name for himself!"

"Then maybe his tricks wouldn't work on the Nightmare?" The chief guessed again, "Gods only know what could've happened if they didn't!"

Gobber nodded in understanding. A Monstrous Nightmare was nothing to trifle with. "Maybe we can get some answers out of Astrid?" He shrugged, "Gothi told me that she's finally started to come around."

That was the first good news Stoick had heard all morning. The two friends hurried over to Gothi's home where the Hoffersons were still fussing over their daughter as the elder held a strong smelling solution under her nose.

Astrid gave a sharp snort and coughed. "What the Hel is that?"

"Astrid," the girl's mother came forward in a rush to cup the girl's face between her hands, "Dearest, I'm so glad you're alright!"

"We all are," the girl's father put in over her shoulder as he leaned in.

Gothi huffed and shooed the worried parents away from the girl as she got her bearings. Stoick was mindful of the girl, but he had questions that needed answering, and the girl was possibly the only one that could answer them.

"Astrid, I know you're tired, and hurt, but you have to tell me what happened last night," the chief said as the girl settled down, "We found you in the arena knocked unconscious with some bad bruising around your ribs. All the Dragons were gone by that time, but we don't know anymore than what Snotlout's told us."

"About that, Chief," Stenvar Hofferson chuckled, "The lad came to us a little while ago asking permission to marry her."

Astrid's eyes went wide as the girl sat straight up, ignoring the searing pain in her ribs, "What did you say?!"

"Astrid, lay back down!" Her mother yelped.

"NO! HEL NO!" She shrieked, "I'd rather die than marry that stinking, shirking coward!"

"Astrid!" Stenvar shouted.

Stoick held up his hand to calm both of them as Gothi gently laid the girl back on the cot. "You must be careful with your words, Astrid, that could be taken as a blood insult."

Astrid glared at the man, "Then let it!" Her sharp words shocked them even further, "I don't know if he's gone insane after last night, or if he's been eating mushrooms, but whatever he told you about that attack was a bold-faced, twisted, stinking pile of lies!"

Stoick slapped his knee, "The truth then, Astrid, from the top."

And Astrid gave it to him. From the moment she fibbed about looking for Hiccup because of something he had said to her earlier that day, and finding Snotlout sleeping on duty again, she might add, and up to the point that he had run away screaming and left her to deal with the Dragon on her own.

Aranea Hofferson, Astrid's mother, looked rather furious. "Whoreson."

"Dear - " Stenvar tried to quiet her, but the woman was beyond his control at this point. He himself wanted to have a few words with Spitelout about the bridal price he had offered, and where he could shove it.

Stoick shook his head, "That is not the way it was told to me," he growled as he looked at the injured girl, "I felt that he was fudging the truth, but I would not expect him to outright lie to me, or have to stupidity to take your hand in marriage in such a way."

Gothi scratched something into the dirt of her floor. "He probably hoped that she would remain asleep until after the contract was agreed upon," she scratched again, "You can expect Spitelout to want his son as your Heir, now, as well."

Stoick snorted, "My son has said that he would return," he said, and looked back to Astrid, "Did Hiccup let on to anything about his leaving?"

Astrid nodded, "It's why I was looking for him so late...or early...whichever."

"Nothing more?" Stoick pressed, but Astrid shook her head.

The girl sighed, "He's really gone?" Stoick nodded sadly, "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him."

"T'wasn't your fault, lass," Stenvar sighed, feeling the chief's loss as well. "Besides, he did say that he would be back, no?"

"Aye, he did say that," Stoick relented, and rose, "You did well, Astrid, make no mistake about that. House Hofferson will be honored for this."

Astrid shook her heard, "I don't deserve that," she felt guilty enough as it was, "Just deal with Snotlout, and I'll be happy."

"On my honor," Stoick said, "I'll deal with him personally."

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

"Comfortable?" Hiccup asked the little Terror inside his tunic. Aside from the larger breeds of Dragons in the holding pen, the little Terrible Terror he now sheltered was easily missed. Once freed, the little fellow had tagged along with him and Toothless.

The Night Fury gave a disgruntled snort at the smaller Dragon's special treatment. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh, "What? Are you jealous?"

Toothless shot a plasma blast out in front of them and flew right through the resulting explosion. "Thanks for nothing." Hiccup coughed as soon as they were out of it, and wiped the soot out of his eyes.

The little Terror sneezed, making his own discomfort known. Toothless ignored him.

They had been flying nonstop since the escape. It was farther than any ship had ever sailed.

His father used to tell him stories of monstrous sea Dragons that awaited foolish sailors that dared to travel too far into the unknown waters. He knew full well that there were Giant Eels in the deeper waters. Scauldrons, and Sea Shockers were also a problem if they went too low.

Hiccup cursed himself. That was the one thing he hadn't thought about before leaving. Other Dragons.

Sure he had been thinking about the giant on Dragon Island, but not about what else could be waiting for them. He sighed and tucked the little Terror into his tunic as the little Dragon curled back up, "One step at a time, guys." He said more to himself than to the two Dragons. Toothless gave a softer croon as he glided through the air.

The sun was beginning to climb higher as they flew along, making the young man yawn tiredly. It had been a long night. Longer than any he remembered...and now his eyes were beginning to play tricks on him.

Mist just didn't pop up out of nowhere.

"Huh, Toothless?" He mumbled as the mist grew thicker, beginning to soak into his clothes and hair. "Where're we going, Bud?"

Toothless tilted his head from side to side, trying to get his bearings in the thick of the mist, then let out a pulse from his mouth that reverberated through the quiet. Hiccup hadn't known he could do that until then, and likened it to what bats did in caves. Only now he wasn't getting a response. Toothless whimpered. Something was wrong.

"Maybe we should find a place to land, huh?" He asked, patting his friend's neck as he began to shiver. Toothless let out another pulse, but got nothing in return. There was no land around for them to land on. Now he was beginning to worry. They'd been flying for hours, and Toothless was getting tired. If they didn't find a place to land and soon they wouldn't stand a chance.

A gust of wind suddenly rushed around them, clearing a path through the mist. Both Dragon and Rider saw, to their relief, an island. A large island. "Let's go, Toothless!"

Toothless whipped and twirled through the air down toward the land mass. With each flap of his wings, however, it seemed to get bigger and bigger the closer they got. Hiccup had to marvel at the unknown island as Toothless glided across a coastline. To his surprise, he saw the remains of a great castle amidst a ruined city.

Toothless let out a curious growl as he looked back at his Rider, and the boy shrugged right back. He was just as curious. His father never told him about a place like this. His curiosity getting the better of the both of them, Hiccup directed Toothless toward what looked like the remains of the main gate.

Hiccup looked around for any signs of other people before dismounting. "Wow, would you look at this place?" He sighed as he marveled at the architecture. The wall looked to be some sort of brick carved from quarried stone, and sealed in place by mortar. Nothing like what he was used to back on Berk. Toothless kept close to him as the young man slowly inched his way into the ruined city. Passing under the archway he noticed a set of runes carved into the stone in what looked like Norse, but slightly different.

"So-li-tude?" He said, trying to sound the word out. "Solitude? Strange name for a place like this, huh, guys?" Toothless gave and answering rumble while the little Terror poked his head out to get a better look around.

The trio worked their way through what was once the main square of a market, and then down into a sprawling little village, intending to make their way to the castle.

As they walked Hiccup could tell that there hadn't been anyone in the city for years. The cobblestones that layered the streets were overgrown with grass, and even small trees in some areas. The houses, even though the stone walls had remained strong and tall, had their roofs caving in. Anything made of wood was rotting away.

Except the castle, which seemed to be made completely of stone.

"What happened here?" Hiccup wondered. "Where are all the people?"

His tiny passenger squeaked, pointing a paw toward a clump of grass. Curious, Hiccup went to inspect it and nearly yelped when he saw that the grass covered a skeleton. An armored skeleton.

"A battle?" He bent to inspect the armor, which looked to be made from some sort of green metal he'd never seen before. The armor itself boasted that the warrior wearing it had been a large individual. Very large.

He reached for the helmet, and found something odd about the skull. It still had patches of skin attached to it, which was green, but it also had a slanted brow, and a protruding lower jaw that hosted a pair of...tusks?

"What in the name of the gods were you?" Hiccup wondered as Toothless hissed at something he saw in the grass. Moving the grass aside, Hiccup found what he was so upset about. It was a sword. A curved, green sword that looked to be in fine condition despite being out in the weather for who knew how long. It was also light, and easy for him to hold with both hands, so he tucked it into his belt. "Sorry, Bud, but I don't know if it's safe here." He said to his distressed friend, "I might need this."

Toothless huffed, but relented that his friend did need to protect himself if he found himself busy with too many foes at once. After giving a silent prayer to the dead warrior, whatever he or she had been, the trio moved toward the castle.

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Even in his wildest dreams Hiccup had never seen anything like the inside of the castle within Solitude. Every window was made of multi-colored glass, letting unbelievably beautiful light. And while much of the massive dwelling lay covered in dust, the castle interior was a work of art compared to the Great Hall of Berk.

Two sets of marbled stairs led up into a throne room. Several corridors led to different studies where there were shelves lined with tome after tome of untouched books of varying design and color. But when he found the actual library, he found out that the castle wasn't a castle at all.

It was a tomb.

The air in the room was stale when he and Toothless pushed the door open, and the rank stench of death hadn't left the air even after so many long years. Not only did he find the mummified remains of the green-skinned being he had found outside, but others with gold, black and red skins that had dulled with time. Their armors were all different, and works of fine art to the young blacksmith.

But one thing caught his attention about the strange corpses. What remained of their ears. All of them tapered off into a rather sharp point. "Elves..." the young man breathed out as he inspected the corpse of a black robed figure that had an arrow stuck in its chest.

All of them seemed to be converging around one solitary person.

At the back of the library lay a figure dressed in heavy bone-like armor. In his right hand was held a massive sword that was carved from the same bony material, while his left held a shield.

Deciding that he had had enough of the stifling room, Hiccup backed out of the room with Toothless and his little Terror perched on his shoulder. "If we're going to stay here," he said to the Dragons, "We're going to have to give them all a proper burial."

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

AN: Yeah, it's a Hiccup leaves home story, but with a Skyrim twist. To sum things up, the Dragonborn is dead, but he will play a role in the coming chapters as Hiccup explores the library. Especially since he's yet to find the Dragonborn's book of Shouts. There's other Magic books in the library, of course, but only time's gonna tell if he'll read them.

Anyway, what'd you people think? Let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

_Summary: _Hiccup begins his life away from his village on an unknown landmass in the abandoned city called Solitude where a great battle was fought, leaving the city littered with old bones and corpses.

* * *

**Solitude**

**Book of Magic**

* * *

It took a full three days for Hiccup to clear the castle of the dead. The library had been the worst of the mess, the piles of dead elves concentrated there the most of all around the strange bone-clad warrior that had died fending them off. It was his corpse that he had had the most trouble with, the armor being far heavier than it looked, and Toothless' outright refusal to help him with it.

When he found himself curious as to why the normally friendly Dragon wanted nothing to do with the armored stranger, while he had helped with others, Hiccup found out that the armor was made from, carved really, from Dragon bones. [_No wonder he didn't want to go near it._] Hiccup sighed as he had loaded up the last corpse onto the wagon he had refurbished and had the Night Fury drag it down to the town square where the rest of them were piled.

Now that the castle had been cleaned of the dead, Hiccup set fire to the the bodies, saying a prayer for them as they were given to the gods at long last. Toothless, and Hiccup's little Terror, whom he had named Sharpshooter, attempted to imitate him while he prayed, which made him laugh as Sharpshooter bumbled over on his back.

Now the trio had another problem to see to.

The rations that Hiccup had brought with him were running low, and while Toothless and Sharpshooter could hunt for themselves, Hiccup was at a serious disadvantage when it came to hunting. He didn't have a bow, nor did he have any fishing line to use. All he really had was the strange green-hued sword that he had found on the dead elf-warrior.

The young man smacked his forehead for having not thought about how to feed himself after they landed. He had been much more concerned about getting away. Still, he had rations for a few more days, which was all well and good, and he new that there was a large forge near the square he could fire up.

Upon exploring the city, Hiccup found the forge to be completely stocked with iron, and some other metals that he didn't recognize, and none of it was worn down by rust, thank the gods. Why he hadn't used it was for the same reason he hadn't really used anything else. When entering the forge, he found the former occupants huddled around each other in their last hours. It had been a family of four. Two men, a father and son, he had guessed, and a woman and a child.

They now burned with the rest of the corpses he had found.

Now he had all the tools he needed to begin smithing, which led him to discover other things in the city that would be useful. There had been a building across from the forge that had been a tailor's shop. Inside he found trunks filled with rolls of fine wool, silks, and cotton. Stored away in the back of the shop were drawers full of fresh tunics and leggings he would gladly make use of as well as gold and silver jewelry he thought of sending back him...to Astrid.

He smiled at the thought as he looked down at a small golden pendant with diamonds affixed to it. Still, he had work to do before he could even think about returning home, or even training Sharpshooter to take messages there, and not get killed in the process.

And so Hiccup focused his attention on the forge. He made use of the Iron to make arrowheads since he was unfamiliar with the other metals, and there seemed to be less of them than the iron, and started drying out a fine piece of willow and oak to make his bow and arrows. The process took several days to complete, even with what he had on hand, but at the end of a week, he had himself a decent hunting bow and quiver full of iron broad heads.

But hunting proved to be a bit more difficult than he thought, especially when he had to balance on the back of a Dragon.

At first, he had tried taking Toothless out over the land to scout out any herds of wild animals. This worked to a limited extent. They found herd upon herd of deer, elk, boar, and something much, much larger that he had never seen before. The hairy creature that they encountered was far bigger than even a Monstrous Nightmare, and had tusks hanging down from its mouth that curled up in the sharp points that he would never want to be on the receiving end of.

But that wasn't what discouraged him from even going near the beasts. Walking alongside such a herd of beasts was what Hiccup could only call a Giant. Truly, the massive humanoid stood well over fifteen tall, and carried a large club formed from a tree trunk. Needless to say that Hiccup and Toothless steered clear of the Giants and there herd.

Still, getting used to hunting from Dragon-back was difficult when he had to keep his foot in its holster to move his friend's tail fin. The first time he actually tried was when his Dragon spooked a large elk as they flew over head. The hunting duo had no trouble catching up to the animal, but trying to aim his bow was difficult. Toothless tried to keep himself steady enough because he knew that his friend was trying to make a kill, but his own instincts were also getting in the way as he wanted nothing more than to swoop down on the elk himself, making him jittery.

In the end, Hiccup's shot missed and Toothless went in for the kill himself, only to throw his rider off balance, and almost out of the saddle, which ultimately caused his prosthetic tail to close, sending both rider and Dragon to the ground and into a snow bank, allowing the elk to escape them.

A second attempt yielded a somewhat better outcome when Toothless made use of his hovering skills. This time they had found a small heard of deer grazing on an open tundra field, and they hadn't seen or scented the young Dragon, yet. The only problem they hadn't reckoned with this time, however, was the possibility of other predators in the area.

Just as Hiccup was lining up his shot, the herd spooked as wolf bounded out of the nearby forest, followed closely by the rest of its pack. Toothless was more than a little upset that their hunt had been interrupted and gave out a loud roar, spooking the wolves in turn back into the forest, and frightening off the deer even further.

Both Dragon and Rider groaned at the failure. "Well, bud, better luck next time, huh?" Hiccup sighed as they moved off to another area in search of another herd.

While flying, he found out that wherever they had landed was far, far bigger than any island in the archipelago he had ever been to whenever his father had taken him to tribal meetings. Around his makeshift home in Solitude was a mountainous area covered in evergreens, while beyond that was tundra as far as the eye could see with rivers running all through it as well as large lakes in the distance.

Wherever they were, it was massive.

"Why haven't we ever found this place?" Hiccup asked Toothless at one point as the pair rested after their second attempt at hunting. "Dad couldn't have missed it, and since there were people here, why haven't we seen anyone?"

Toothless rumbled in confusion to the boy's question. To the young Night Fury, abandoning a nest such as his friend had found usually meant that it was unsafe, but due to the fact that there were so many dead bodies piled up, competition had most likely been fierce. But it was obvious even to Toothless that aside from the strange giant two-legs, there were no others as far as he could smell. Even so, he didn't understand why the nest was still unclaimed by others.

There was abundant game to hunt, and plentiful enough fresh water. What streams they had flown over were filled with fish, his personal favorite being salmon. He was just as curious as his human companion.

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Back on Berk, Astrid's recovery was going smoothly thanks to being left alone for once. Apparently, after he talk with the chief over a week ago, Snotlout was not the man's favorite person, or even the village's for that matter. Now, however, she needed to get back on her feet. Not that she had been lazing about in her bed the entire time, of course, she had been helping her parents whenever they allowed her, but she was missing the feel of her axe in her hands, and there was a raid due any day now.

As she walked through the village, the tension was palpable. Everyone was on edge about the next raid for more reasons than she knew. After his disappearance, it was believed that Hiccup had been taken by the Dragons, so many of the families were doing their best to fortify their homes' defenses. No one wanted to lose a child to the Dragons as the chief may have.

The girl felt no small amount of guilt over the truth of Hiccup's disappearance. [At least I know he wasn't taken to the Nest.] She thought sadly, remembering the look on Stoick's face when he asked her where the boy might have gone. [It's true, I don't know where he was going, or where he'd be by now, so at least that wasn't a lie.] As a rule of code, she hated liars. And she had done that very thing when she hadn't told the chief all that she knew of Hiccup and Toothless. But at least it was for a good cause...she hoped.

"Astrid!" Stoick called out to her as he spotted her across from the forge.

Gulping back a sudden case of nerves, the girl smiled, and went over to him, "Chief?"

"Feeling better I hope?" He asked, giving the girl a small look of concern.

Astrid patted her ribs softly, "Still tender, but nothing that I can't handle." She said truthfully, "I've had broken ribs before. Remember when that Gronkle caved in our roof? I was caught under one of the beams."

"Aye, I remember," Stoick nodded, sighing, "Lass, I know how you feel about Snotlout right now - "

Astrid held up a hand, "With respect, Chief, no you don't." She sighed, "That Night Fury came out of nowhere, and I still tried to put up a fight, but Snotlout ran screaming, and left me alone."

Stoick snorted, nodding his large head in understanding, "Let me rephrase that then; Spitelout's not having any of what you said against his son, and Snotlout's not backing down." He said, "I've just barely got his father off of proclaiming a blood feud between your families. Snotlout's still trying to sell me on his story as well, and Gothi was right. Spitelout is trying to get me to take Snotlout as my heir."

Astrid gave him a worried look, "You're not really going to do that, are you?" She asked, frowning, "I-I know it's none of my business, but Snotlout's...well, -"

Stoick actually laughed at the girl, "Yes, yes, I know what he's like." He sighed, "But I have something to put a bur in his craw for that...if you wouldn't mind it?"

Her brow rose, "Mind..._what_ exactly?"

"Well, you know that my son was rather fond of you, do you not?" He asked, and had the pleasure of seeing the girl blush rather lightly, acknowledging the young man's crush on the girl, and, perhaps, a mutual affection between the two. "Well, while I don't know how long he'll be gone, he has promised to return if he can. That being said, I don't trust Snotlout as my heir, nor do I think Fishlegs could handle the responsibility. And do not even get me started of _Tuffnut_!"

Astrid let out a pained giggle, "Please, don't make me laugh, Chief!" She clutched at her side, "Where are you going with this?"

The large Viking shrugged, "Well, the only way I can see you getting the Jorgenson's off of your back is to engage you to my own son," Astrid looked at him in shock, "I know it's a bit of a stretch, seeing as he..." He trailed off, looking shameful.

"Chief," she stepped forward to place her hand on his forearm, "I care about Hiccup a great deal more than I do most of the boys on the island." She found admitting such to be easier than she thought. "When he talked about leaving, I...felt something. I don't know what. But I didn't like the idea of him leaving. Not at _all_...and I miss him. A lot."

Stoick smiled down at her, and patted her shoulder, careful of her injuries. "As do I, my dear," he said, and nodded, "Alright, I'll make so that you're engaged to him, and hopefully, we'll hear from him soon. That'll keep Spitelout and Snotlout out of your hair for now."

"Thank you for the honor of the engagement," she smiled, making the man chuckle.

"Right, now that that's out of the way," he smiled, "You know that we're due for raid any day now. Did Hiccup share any of his tricks with you?" He asked, "Gobber said that he spooked a Zippleback into the pen just a few weeks into training."

Astrid nodded, "I know a few things he told me before he left."

With that, the two moved up to the Great Hall for a midday meal to speak about what could be done to drive the Dragons off from the village without much damage. And she had no problems telling him about Dragons' unbelievable fear, loathing even, of eels. To find that something as powerful as a Dragon could frightened of something as small as an eel was nearly laughable to her, but Stoick nodded, having seen the giant eels that rivaled some Dragons in size.

For a moment she thought he was fooling with her, but the man later showed her a jaw that Gobber kept as a trophy from one such eel, that easily rivaled the jaw of a bull shark. When she took him out into the forest to show him the grass that Hiccup found that made Dragons act drunkenly, she noted that it smelled strongly of garlic. Stoick made sure to take a large bundle of the grass, intending to dry it out and make it into an incense with Gothi's help.

The village fishermen were ordered to bring in as many eels as they possibly could, and kept alive until the Raid began, which would prove or disprove their effectiveness against the Dragons. Astrid was confident enough in Hiccup's knowledge.

Then came a bit of unpleasantness. Snotlout.

The young Jorgenson heir was still the cocky, idiotic fool that he had always been. And seeing her up and about set him an extremely obnoxious mood. "Hey, Babe!"

Astrid groaned with a strong wince as she saw Stoick some feet away. Out of reach. And Snotlout had just come up and clapped her on the shoulder, rattling her ribs painfully so. "Gah!"

"You know my dad said that your dad refused the bridal price," Snotlout smiled winningly, "I mean come on, how much does he want? Dad already offered up half the family fortune." The Jorgenson family fortune consisted of a small chest of gold, and an even smaller chest of jewels. Both of which had been won in a raiding party long ago. "Think about it! In the end it's all gonna be mine, anyway."

Astrid bristled, and shoved his hand off of her, "No, my dad refused the price because I refused you!" She snapped with a glare that could curdle milk.

"Why would you do that?" Snotlout asked in confusion.

Her left eye twitched, and if you knew Astrid Hofferson, then you would know just how bad of a sign that was. "Gee, Snotlout, let me think about that," she said mockingly, "One, you're a cowardly bastard that left me for dead against a Night Fury - "

"It was a Night Fury!" Snotlout shouted, worried now that she was speaking louder, and that there were people around to here her, "And keep it down, will ya?"

"TWO!" She shouted louder, "You lied to our chief about the entire thing thinking you could get some form of glory out of it, and even make yourself the heir of Berk!"

"Come on!" Snotlout shouted, "Everyone knows Hiccupt got eaten!"

"He didn't!" Astrid snapped, "Which brings me to point number three!" She got right up in his face, furious, "I'm engaged to Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, and I couldn't be happier for the choice! Because I wouldn't marry you even if you were the son of Odin!" She reared back and put everything she could muster into her right arm, and slammed her fist right into his jaw.

Snotlout toppled over backwards, out cold.

A booming laugh behind her nearly knocked her off her own feet, "A Jorgenson clan weakness," Stoick laughed as he patted the girl on the shoulder, "Their jaws are made of paper. A fine hit that was, too, my dear."

Astrid grimaced, "Thank you chief." She then sighed, looking at the downed boy, "But I doubt this is the last I'll hear of this."

"Which is why I'm going to take you into my house," Stoick said without missing a beat, "Don't look so surprised, Astrid. I did engage you yo my son, and I do happen yo have a spare room that's vacant." He smiled, and nodded toward the village, "If this works, we could find better ways to deal with the Dragons without having to lose so much each time."

"I trust Hiccup," Astrid said, looking up at the man, "He...he told me what happened to his mother...your wife." She saw him nodding sadly, "I'm sorry for your loss. You know my uncle was frozen by a Flightmare."

"Aye, that I do," the man sighed, "And thank you, Astrid. That night still haunts me." He shook his head, "The Dragon wasn't anything like a Flightmare, but it may as well have been. I froze for all of a second when I saw my wife cornered by that beast before I threw my axe, and missed. I dove right for Hiccup just as it flamed at me, and grabbed Valka."

Now Astrid felt triply guilty. Especially from what she was about to suggest. "Chief, I was thinking," she sighed.

"Dangerous pass time, that." He chuckled.

She snorted out a laugh, "I won't argue," she said, then went on, "While...talking with Hiccup, he mentioned something about...training a Dragon."

Stoick's brow dipped down into a hard V-shape, "I was right, that is dangerous thinking." He said, hands on his hips, "Astrid, please tell me he never - "

"No, no," Astrid said quickly, tongue in cheek, "Not that I recall...It's just...all the tricks he learned..."

"You think he was going to try?" Stoick asked, to which she nodded, and frowned, "Astrid, given my family's history, you ought to know how I'd feel about this?"

"Yes, and I wouldn't even ask this of you if I didn't think he could prove it," she said, and bit her lip, "And you know Hiccup. He had to have had proof of something like that to even suggest it to me, and I...you know I hate them, too...for Uncle Finn."

Stoick nodded in understanding, "And yet you would still like to try?"

"With a Terrible Terror," she said, "They're the smallest, and easiest to handle." She said, and saw that he was listening, "If it works, we can try it with one of the larger ones like a Gronkle, or something?"

Stoick was quiet for a long while, "Why...exactly, do you want to try this?"

Astrid blushed a little bit, "We...we train our hounds to track by scent...what if...what if I could teach a Dragon like a Terror to..." She trailed off.

Now the man understood, "To track my son's scent." He gestured toward his home, and noted that the girl was swaying on her feet, "Come. We can work out the details of it after you've rested a bit."

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

{_In my life, I have learned much, but I have lost far more than I could have imagined. My time in Skyrim began when I crossed the mountain border to return to my ancestral home after my family fell upon hard times in Cyrodil's capital city. My farm was barren and my mother was sick with fever. My father had been killed by a band of Goblins, and I had no wife or children to tie me down. _

_And so I traveled to Skyrim. _

_Looking back on it now, I could almost call it the worst mistake of my life, yet I know that if I hadn't returned, then the world would have been destroyed. In returning to my ancestor's home country, I became a wizard, a thief, a master of the sword, and a hand in the rising of a king. Yet I never knew that in doing so, I would lose myself to a part of my lineage that I never knew that I had until the first time I slew a Dragon._}

Hiccup closed the book suddenly, feeling disgusted. [_What is it with people and killing Dragons_?!] He sighed, rubbing his head. Of course he was in the library. Though the language was an older version of Norse, he could easily make out the words they spelled. The first few books he'd tried to read were...something akin to old stories, and legends. Trolls and How to Deal with Them. The Races of Mer. Beastfolk. Werewolves and How to Avoid Them. Curing Vampirism. The list of such tomes went on and on. And all of them seemed to be as phony as his being a prodigy Dragonslayer.

There were other, stranger books that, when he reached for them, seemed to move themselves away from his hand. Those books he now tended to stay away from in favor of others, mainly those that dealt with smithing the various metals he had found in the forge. The Iron was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There was a stronger metal called Steel, which was a more purified version of Iron, but then there was something called Moonstone, and Malachite, both of which he was eager to work with, and a black metal called Ebony.

Each smithing book held examples of such metals, and their finished product in armor or weapons.

But the book he was currently glaring at was one he had picked up out of boredom. The book was titled "Book of the Last Dragonborn", which was what caught his attention. He had heard legends of people called Dragonborn. Old wives tales had told of children being born between a Human and a Dragon. They were usually called Dragonkin, but the meaning seemed to be the same.

Sighing, he picked the book back up, and flipped through a few pages. {_My time with the Companions bore fruit quickly. It proved to be just what I needed to gain enough coin to build my home in Falkreath. Farkas and Vilkas were my usual Shield Brothers whenever we went out on a hunt. Kodlak was a fine leader to us all, and a good friend. Aela was sauciest flirt of a woman I'd ever met, but no less a fine huntress as her name suggested. _

_What I didn't know what that all of my friends in the Companions' Inner Circle all held a secret. When I came to Whiterun, I never would have thought that such a peaceful town could house something that seemed so sinister at the time. _

_It happened when the twins and I were out on a routine patrol to rid the area of a small group of bandits. Their lair turned out to be an old Nordic ruin, and being the foolish youngster that I was at the time, I went looking for treasures. That probably saved my life. I had found a chest in a small aclove, but when I opened it, I set of a trip wire, which sent a thick Iron gate crashing down behind me. _

_Farkas and Vilkas were having a good laugh about the whole thing whilst I begged them to let me out. That's when things turned ugly...well, uglier. The group of bandits that we had been sent to take care of were a group called the Silver Hand: a group of Werewolf hunters._}

Hiccup sat up straighter as that single word nearly turned his blood to ice. There were stories of Werewolves going back to the days before the Hooligan tribe settled on Berk. They were blessed (e.i. cursed) by the great wolf, Fenrir, son of Loki, God of Mischief.

He closed the book again, and placed it back on the shelf. "What the Hel have I gotten myself into?" He asked himself. Toothless came into the room then, giving him a worried look with those large green eyes of his with Sharpshooter perched on his back. Hiccup smiled at the two Dragons, "Yeah, you're right, guys. I need to get out of - "

_THUMP_

"Dah!" Hiccup yelped and whirled around. Toothless and Sharpshooter both hissed and growled. All three sets of eyes went to the floor as one of the books had somehow fallen to the floor. The skin was red, and looked to have a black oaken tree on the cover. Hesitantly, Hiccup bent to pick it up. "An Novice's Guide into Altercation by Master Tolfdir of Winterhold?" Hiccup read, and opened up the book.

The pages of the book should have been old, and dogeared, but they seemed crisp and knew. The ruins looked as though they had been written in gold and seemed to shine as he looked at them.

{_Altercation relies on the manipulations of the physical world as a whole. As you red through this introduction into the spells you will need to complete your ascension into an Apprentice, you will learn the skills to draw Magic into you from all around you, and use it to Alter the world around you._}

Toothless and Sharpshooter grumbled and squeaked over his shoulders as Hiccup read, both in disbelief, and in interest.

Hiccup looked up at his two Draconian companions. "First Werewolves, and now Magic," he sighed, and closed the book to tuck it under his arm. "come on, guys, let's get something to eat."

The trio trotted out of the library, Hiccup still holding the book under his arm.

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Stoick frowned as the day of the Raid came.

Everything was set up to his specifications. Ropes of smoked eels, and barrels of live eels were scattered all around the village. The incense he had commissioned from Gothi was set in braziers all over the village ready to be lit. Beside him was his half-brother, Spitelout, looking grim as always.

"You're really not putting your faith in this, are you, Stoick?" Spitelout asked, frowning at the larger man, "The girl says that these were your son's ideas, but could that not be a ploy?"

Stoick looked at the man with a deeper frown on his face, "Are you trying to turn me against one of my own, Spitelout?" He rumbled angrily. "I know that you are angry with the girl, and her family, for turning you proposal down, but you will not sway me. Hiccup left me the note, and Astrid proved it."

"She could've forged - "

"I know my son's handwriting!" Stoick thundered, "I taught him! I taught them both! I tried to teach your son, but he was too enamored with himself to pay attention!"

Spitelout rounded on the man, "Are you calling my son a fool, Brother?"

"There's a lot of things I'd call him, Brother," Stoick growled, straightening himself to full height towering over the man. "He's lied to me. He's insulted others that could have easily called a blood feud between your families. And he does not care a wit."

Spitelout laughed, "A boy feeling his oats."

"An idiot that does not know how to keep his trap shut," Gobber said as the old blacksmith hobbled over to the pair, and brandished his axe at the younger man, "I'd call him a thief, too, since he likes making off with swords from my armory when he thinks I don't know about it. And you still haven't paid those bills I've nailed to your door!"

"You keep asking for what I don't have!" Spitelout snapped.

Stoick raised his brow at the man, "And yet you have the money to pay the Hofferson's bridal price before Astrid flew into a rage over his lies?" Spitelout looked away for a moment, and ground his teeth. "Enough is enough, Spitelout." He ground out, "I grow tired of your son strutting and throwing his weight around as if he was the next chief. He's not, and he's never going to be. And tell him to stay away from Astrid."

"You can't really expect your son to return, can you?" Spitelout huffed, "Dead or alive, the lad deserted us. He has no place here."

"That," Stoick sneered, "Is for me to decide."

The warning bell sounded. The Dragons had arrived.

"Light the braziers!" Stoick roared, "String eels around the sheep and that oxen! Be ready to fight!"

Down in the village, Astrid was holding a torch bound with the same grasses that were burning in the braziers, the smoke wafting up from it nearly making her gag.

The flight of Dragons was bigger than usual. She could tell because the shapes against the darkening sky were far bigger than the usual Gronkle. Beside her was Fishlegs, holding a pole wrapped with smoked eels, and looking nervous as a rabbit in front of a wolf. "Easy, Fish, just keep that pole up and wave it at the first Dragon you see coming at you."

"I'd really prefer to have my mace right now." The rotund teen said, shaking. "How come Snotlout is up by the sheep pens? That's the safe job!"

"Cause he doesn't wanna scratch up his ugly-pretty face when this doesn't work," Tuffnut laughed, "Me though? I'm gonna get some awesome scars outta this!"

Astrid glared at the male Thorston twin, "Hey, this is gonna work!"

"Hiccup thought it up, which means it doesn't have a high probability of working, Astrid," Fishlegs frowned, and withered when the girl turned her glare on him. "Sorry."

Astrid didn't comment, only turned to face the approaching Dragons. One was coming right at them, a Nightmare. She took hold of Fishleg's pole, and held it high as the Dragon dove.

"Astrid, look out!" She heard Ruffnut yell.

Astrid stayed put as the Dragon flared it's massive wings to land...then roared in fright as she held out the eels, desperately trying to stop its decent. Its wings drove the smoke from the torches and braziers into the air, and all around it. The people of Berk watched in awe as one of the largest Dragons that plagued their village gave out a last bellow of warning and crashed to the ground in a stupor.

"Nets!" Astrid yelled.

The villagers rushed to cast nets over the Dragon, and made to drag it off to the cages. She then turned to the rest of her friends, "It works." She proclaimed. "Now protect the village!"

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

The night went the way Stoick had prayed.

The incense smoke had brought down several Dragons, many of which were killed outright, adding eight to the holding pens. The eels had frightened off the entire flight when the villagers had brought them out. It proved that Hiccup's trick worked. And it proved that his son knew how to defend himself from Dragons. Just not like everyone else.

Spitelout had shut up about Astrid leading him on after the girl had brought down the Nightmare and had it dragged off toward the pens. she had also gotten a few Terrible Terrors for her project. Something that Stoick was now wholeheartedly backing.

Now, the Raiding done for the night, the girl slept in Hiccup's old bed, reeking of smoke and fish. The chief couldn't help but smile as the girl looked so small now, even smaller than his son did on a normal basis. He reached down and tucked the bearskin blanket around her.

"Good work, lass," he said, and turned to leave. "Hiccup would be proud."

The girl mumbled something in her sleep as the door closed. She had dreams of teaching her little Terrors to carry messages to Hiccup, wherever he was.

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Hiccup sat in front of his friends as the two Dragons sat across from him.

"Okay, guys, you ready for this?" He asked nervously.

Toothless cocked his head, rumbling in the back of his throat while Sharpshooter just squeaked.

"I will take that as a yes," the boy said jovially, then took a deep breath, "Okay...no problem..." He breathed in and out again, "Just gather the Magic inside, and let it flow out to give my words power." He took another breath, closed his eyes and held out his hands to the two Dragons. "_Mæli...til...mik_." A faint blue glow rose around his hands. Sharpshooter shook his head and sneezed while Toothless shivered.

He opened his eyes, and smiled at the two Dragons, "Well? Did it work?"

Toothless cocked his head, "Did what work?"

"I'm hungry." Sharpshooter complained.

* * *

AN: Two talking Dragons, and Astrid solidifies her rank in the village. Hiccup is now a novice mage. And there's more to come. So please, please, please review.


	3. Chapter 3

_Summary:_ After finding out that Astrid's plan to use what she'd learned from Hiccup have been proven, her position in the village is cast in stone whilst she attempts her idea of training a Dragon to track down Hiccup's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Hiccup himself makes a startling discovery in the form of a book of Magic. Stricken with the idea that Magic is possible, he finds a way to grant his Dragon companions the gift of speech. Whether it's a blessing or a curse has yet to be proven.

* * *

**Falkreath**

**A Message from Hiccup**

* * *

A month had gone by since the Raid on the village had proven Hiccup's tactics against the Dragons to be true. The village was now littered with strings of smoked eels, and all of the braziers held clumps of dried Dragon Nip, as Astrid had called the pungent weed, ready to be ignited should another attack come.

The Dragons had flown over Berk plenty of times during the month after the last Raid, but none had attacked them. Once they scented the eels, they stayed well away from Berk. The problems concerning the Dragons seemed to be solved. But there was only so much they could do. Eels tended to migrate upstream to spawn, but if they over-fished them, then they would soon disappear.

The same could be said of the Dragon Nip. The plants they had picked and gathered were young and strong, not yet ready to go to seed. It was quick to grown back, but once winter hit, then it would be gone until the spring thaw happened. And even then there was no certain guarantee that it would sprout again without having seeded the soil.

Gothi found that waiting for it to seed also presented another problem. When it went to seed, it spread that seed with dandelion-like fluff on the seeds, and relied on the wind to carry them to new soils. Gathering the seed before then made them useless, and unable to grow. Waiting on it was also a problem in the fact that birds also came to eat the seeds. Not a bad thing, of course, but birds flew from island to island, which spread the seeds even further from their reach. And harvesting the grass after it had gone to seed was useless as well in that it lost its pungent odor that seemed to lull the dragons after the seeding. Not even the yaks would touch after that.

Astrid had taken a coin from Hiccup's pouch on that little problem, figuratively speaking, and taken to potting some of the grass. It worked, to an amazing extent. Flowers tended to flourish under care, but weeds needed very little care. In Astrid and Gothi's hands the Dragon Nip flourished even more than a bed of wild flowers did in the spring sun. Thanks to her quick thinking and Gothi's help, they would have plenty of the seeds to replant the next year.

Which meant that Astrid could focus on her project.

"Sneaky, get off of Gobber's head!"

Gobber looked up above his head and saw the mischievous little Terror perched on his helmet, "Ack! Away ya stinking creature!" The blacksmith roared, waving at the little rascal with his stump-arm which held his smithing hammer. Sneaky squawked and bolted off toward his mistress as the hammer clunked down on Gobber's head. "Gah, why ya little scamp!" Gobber howled as he tried to dislodge his helmet.

Astrid winced as she beat a hasty retreat before the man could do so. Shaking her head as she moved back to the arena with her little troublemaker. "You've really got to stop doing that, Sneaky," she told the little Dragon, who seemed to understand her to a point, "Not everyone's thrilled that you're here."

Sneaky's expression visibly dropped, giving the girl the impression that he was upset, but she just tickled him under his chin. "It's okay, once we prove you're useful, then we don't have to worry."

Sneaky, a pretty little male aquamarine Terror, had caught her eye just after the Raid when she checked on the stock of Terrible Terrors. She had her pick out of a small flock of fifteen of the little rascals, but Sneaky had become friendly with her first and foremost out of their numbers. She hadn't even needed to coax him to her with food. He simply liked her. And after she gave him a piece of smoked ham? She'd made a friend for life.

Now she was about to put him through one of his exercises. "Alright, Sneaky, you know the drill," she told him as she strapped a little leather saddle to his back, which held a scroll insert. The objective was for him to find a specific target, usually the chief since he was tolerant of the little fellow, and deliver a message to him. Then he would be sent back while Astrid would check his time, and reward him.

The message she was sending to him today was a simple progress report on the storehouses which she now slipped into his saddle. "Okay, little guy," she held up a woolen glove that Stoick had donated for the task, "Go search!"

With a sniff and a squawk, Sneaky took off like a shot, and flew straight through the chain net above them in search of his target.

Sneaky knew Stoick well by now, and easily pinpointed him by his scent. The man was currently down by the docks checking the ships for any damage that needed to be repaired before the next voyage, whether it be for fishing or searching for the nest. "How are we on eel supply?"

Spitelout shrugged, "Plenty in stock. What's not being hung out to ward off the Dragons is being eaten." He said in disgust, "Never did care for eels, smoked, fried or grilled."

"Then don't eat it. Hang it out to keep those devils away." Stoick said before a squawk caught his attention. "Ah, Sneaky's found me again." He said with a chortle as the little Terror flew down and perched on his helmet's left horn, "What have you got for me this time, you little scamp?"

Sneaky hung himself upside down to present his pack while the man took out the scroll to read. "Hmm, Astrid seems to think that we could use a bit more meat in the smoke houses. And that some of the women have been complaining about boars coming too close to the washing area."

Spitelout nodded, "Two birds, one stone that one." He said eyeing Sneaky warily. "Why do you let that girl keep that little monster?"

"She's training the little rascal, isn't that obvious?" Stoick asked rhetorically, "He's a fine tracker, if I do say so myself. After all, she's sent him after rabbits just by using a piece of tanned fur, and brought back a pair of the little varmints."

"Luck."

"She's used him to track down deer, too, Spite, and you know that's harder to do." Stoick said, "And he can track down people just as well."

Spitelout kept himself silent, fuming under the surface at the girl's success. Ever since the Raid he felt the girl had gotten too much attention, promised to the Heir or not. He wasn't too happy with her treatment of his son, either. The fool boy had the right idea about what woman to go after, but common sense failed him when dealing with her. Of course, he could also say that the girl had poor taste in men considering her claim to favor Hiccup over Snotlout. Then again, he could even say that she was making a power play. She was right next to the chief now, and that was a desirable position in anyone's mind. Stoick even listened to her over his own half-brother at times.

And that right there made Spitelout furious.

"Alright, you little demon," Stoick said to the little Terror as he shooed him off, "Back to your mistress."

Sneaky obeyed and darted away. [_Hopefully he'll soon be ready to track long distances._] Stoick thought sadly, his son still at the front of his mind.

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

"Hey, hey, hey, I don't like this. What if somebody sees you?"

"Will you relax? It's not like I'm gonna waltz right through the village, you know?"

"Toothless, you're a black Dragon out in the daylight," Sharpshooter reminded the larger Dragon, "You stick out like a sore spot on a Nightmare's tail!"

Toothless stuck his large head out of the bushes he was hiding in to take a look around before ducking back down, "Then it's a good thing I'm not the one doing all the grunt work, Sharpshooter!" He hissed at the smaller Dragon o his back while he was busy gnawing through the parcels on his saddle, "Jeez, the first thing Hiccup does when he grows my tail back is use me like one of those pack mules."

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," the little green Dragon said as he dropped a package to the ground with a heavy thump, "Look at it this way, at least he didn't ask to come along."

"I think I'd prefer it that way," Toothless grunted, "Believe it or not, Sharp, I like carrying him around."

Sharpshooter laughed out a small puff of smoke, "That's pack mule talk."

"So help me, I'll eat you!" Toothless growled loudly causing the smaller Dragon to yelp.

He jumped on his snout, "For crying out loud!" Sharpshooter snapped, "Are you trying to get us caught?!"

Toothless shook him off, "We're only going to get caught if you don't hurry up!" He snarled and shook the rest of the packages off of his back. "Ysmir's beard, it feels like he put bricks in those things!"

Sharpshooter inspected each package, making sure he had all the names, "Alright, which one goes where?"

"Gobber's the man missing an arm and a leg." Toothless said, pointing toward the forge, "Just watch out for him, Hiccup says he hates Terrible Terrors."

"Joy." Sharpshooter sniffed, and picked up the package meant for the old smith. "Ugh, you're right, this _is_ heavy!" He groaned and fluttered into the air with the parcel.

"Told you!" Toothless laughed and settled down to wait. "Be careful."

"Yeah, yeah." Sharpshooter groaned and flew high over the village, "Ugh, it reeks of eels!"

The little green Terror blundered through the air with his heavy load, the square parcel obviously containing several of those things Hiccup called books he liked to read. "I can't wait to grow a little more," Sharpshooter huffed quietly as he landed on the roof of the forge panting heavily. "I could carry this a whole lot better if I was what Hiccup called a Titan Wing."

"Somebody out there?"

"Doh!" Sharpshooter ducked down and flattened himself against the roof as the man he was looking for lumbered out. Gobber was just below him looking around for whoever he'd heard speaking.

"Strange," he scratched his head, "Could'a swore I heard someone?" He then shrugged and went back to work in the forge. Meanwhile Sharpshooter inched his way to the edge of the roof and peaked in. Gobber had his back turned hammering away at a bent sword and that gave him the perfect chance to make his delivery. Lashing his tail around the parcel's bindings he tumbled heel over head and hung by his front feet and swung the parcel right into the forge behind the man with a heavy thud.

"What the blazes?!" Gobber yelped and turned to just barely miss the scrambling green tail disappearing up onto the roof. He looked down and nearly tripped over the strange little parcel just behind his remaining leg. "Hello. What's this?" He bent to pick it up, "Astrid must've sent Sneaky after me, the little devil." He chuckled as he brought the little gift over to his work bench. It was tied with a neat little bow at the top which he pulled and the wrappings fell away. "Books?"

Curious, he picked up one of the tomes and saw a hammer an anvil on the cover. Tucked into the pages he saw a small pit of parchment. When he pulled it out, he expected to see Astrid's hand writing in charcoal, as always. Instead he found a very neat script written down in ink, a rare commodity in his neck of the woods. What's more was that he recognized the writing to not be Astrid's but that of his former apprentice. "Oh, thank Thor, lad, you're alive!" He breathed out, choked up at seeing his apprentice's script.

{_Dear Gobber, _

_I know I left you in a bind, because I know you had a lot of orders to get done, but hopefully this will make up for it. Where I've gone to, they have such advanced smithing techniques that you'd never believe it for yourself. So I've sent you a few of the books on some of the metals that are made here. The first one is called Steel, something created from combining Iron ore with something called Corundum. The book tells you everything about you might need to know. If you have trouble with the words, ask Astrid, she'll be glad to help you, I know she would._}

Gobber had to smile at that little comment, "I can read a lot better now, thanks to your little lady friend, Hic, but thanks for the tip."

{_Another book contains information about a black metal called Ebony. It's supposed to be a lot stronger, and crafts beautiful armor and weapons. I don't know if there's any on Berk, but it's worth a look around to try to find it. I don't think I've seen anything that's sharper except Dragon teeth. _

_The next metal I think you'd be interested in is something called Quicksilver. It's used alongside Ebony to make an even tougher armor, but it's damnably heavier. Dad would like it. Nice and strong. _

_I hope you can use all of what I've sent to you. I really miss working with you in the forge. _

_Your apprentice,_ _Hiccup_}

The man gave a sniffle and wiped his nose, "You scamp. Even when you're not here you're trying to do your best for us." He smiled and thumped his way out of the forge, intent on finding Stoick.

Sharpshooter, meanwhile, was roof hopping his way across the village with the next delivery, "I swear, this is worse than the stupid books!" He grunted as she dragged a larger wrapped item behind him. It was far too heavy for him to fly with, and looked damnably like one of those sharp back-clubs that the human he was trying to find liked to use.

He found her scent easy enough, and also found out where she was. Much to his annoyance, she was at that Dragon prison that the Berkians liked to call an arena. And it was far too far for him to just hop across to it. "I'd better get an entire platter of grilled salmon for this!" He groaned and readied himself to jump. And jump he did. Clasping the parcel tightly jumped with his wings spread out as far as he could, and sailed right across while losing altitude fast.

"Ahck!" he coughed as he slammed into the chain roof, dropping his delivery in the process. It clattered to the ground loudly, startling the girl it had landed near. Sharpshooter decided the he had best move his tail before she saw him, and jumped back into the air just as she was bending to pick up the package.

Astrid was shocked to find it, too. Sneaky squeaked on her shoulder in curiosity as the girl began to unwrap the parcel and gasped. Inside was an axe. A beautifully carved axe made from a dark metal she had never seen before with fur at the base of the blade. The carvings were obviously Norse, but she couldn't see any messages or words in the carvings. "Who...?" She breathed out as she marveled at the beautiful weapon, and saw a tell-tale Hooligan sigil carved into the haft. "Hiccup!"

"Astrid!" She heard Stoick bellow and saw the man thundering toward her with Gobber practically bouncing along behind him.

"Chief!" She hollered at him.

The two men skidded to a halt next to her, both looking pale as a white sheep's wool. "Astrid, be honest with me, have you been sending one of your Terrors around?"

Astrid quickly shook her head, understanding why immediately, "No, sir, but I got something from him, too! Look!" She held up the battle axe for both men to see.

Gobber was quick to inspect it, and grinning widely, "Aye, that's Hiccup's handy work alright!" He laughed loudly, "By Thor, the boy's really alright!"

"Did you get anything, Chief?" Astrid asked, but the man shook his head.

"I haven't been back to the house, yet, so I might have missed it." He told her, "But I've been hearing complaints about a Terrible Terror bouncing around on the rooftops and spooking people. Your mother caught sight of the little bugger and thought it might be one of your because she saw it carrying something."

Astrid shook her head, "Sneaky's the only one I've got that well trained."

Gobber nudged the man, "We better go check your house, then, because I bet he sent something to you, too, Stoick."

Stoick nodded, "Aye, let's go. Astrid, you, too, and bring Sneaky along!"

Of course, Sharpshooter was near the chief's house.

To be more precise, he was just outside the window, struggling to lift the last...delivery. A delivery that just so happened to be a large, to him anyway, chest, and it was _heavy_!

"Forget salmon!" The little Dragon puffed as he tried to lift the chest up to the window. "I want tuna! Nice, fat, juicy freshly caught tuna!" He growled, and gave one last heave and pushed the chest up and through the window. Unfortunately for him -

"Yipe!"

\- one of his horns caught on the Iron fittings and hauled him through with the chest.

Toothless, who had been watching his last delivery, covered his face with his tail as his little friend disappeared into the house. "Oh, Sharpshooter, you dunderhead!"

Sharpshooter was too busy to hear his friend as he was trying to get himself loose of the fittings and get himself out of the house before -

"I know I heard something!" He heard Gobber shouting as the door crashed open. He first spotted the open window, and then his eyes fell upon the little Terror with his horns stuck in the chest fittings. "Ack, there's the little rascal!"

[_Oh no!_] Sharpshooter redoubled his efforts to get loose, but he was _stuck_!

"Astrid, get'im!" Stoick shouted as the girl moved in and wrapped left hand around Sharpshooter's mouth to keep him from biting while the right one reached up and pulled his horns free.

"Easy, now, little guy." Astrid said soothingly as the little Terror fought her grip. "No one's gonna hurt you."

Sharpshooter wasn't quite ready to believe that, but was a little surprised he hadn't been skinned, yet. Then he caught sight of the other Terror sitting on Astrid's shoulder. He stopped fighting as hard and relaxed a little as the young woman rose with him tucked into her arms. "He's got a harness on him."

"Looks a little bit better than what Sneaky's wearing," Gobber noticed and smiled, "Uh-huh, that's Hiccup's work, just like the axe!"

"What did he send you?" Astrid asked as Stoick picked up the chest and set it on the table.

Stoick unlatched the chest and lifted the lid. Gobber and Astrid crowded around him, all three of them shocked. The chest contained a fortune. Inside was a chief's ransom in gold, jewels and baubles that would have put the Jorgenson's fortune to shame ten times over.

"Freya," breathed out Astrid. "That's...that's more coin than I've ever seen!"

Gobber took a coin from the pile to inspect it, "Aye, it's pure, too. You don't get something like this around here too often."

Stoick looked at his friend, "Can you tell where it's from?"

Gobber shook his head, "Never seen the likes of this kind'a coin before." He said, "No one would use a Dragon sigil like this on their coin, anyways."

[_Gee, thanks a lot, you jerks_!] Sharpshooter thought huffily.

Astrid leaned in and reached into the lid, "Stoick, there's a letter pinned in here."

"Let's see it, then," she handed him the letter. "Gobber, bring a candle. I need some light."

Gobber did as he was asked as he and Astrid huddled around him to hear him read it.

{_Dear Dad, _

_I hope you're doing well. I think I'm doing decently on my end. The gold and jewels you'll find with this letter are what I've been able to find in my time here. Wherever here is. _

_Also, I'm willing to bet that Gobber's with your when you read this, and maybe Astrid,_ too.}

"Cheeky rascal," Gobber chortled as he and Astrid heard that line from Stoick as he read, choking up a little bit.

{_For the time being, I want you to know that I'm safe, and healthy. My time in this new land's done me some good, I think. I've seen a lot already, and learned even more. I'm not even sure you'd believe me if I said it all in this letter, so I'll have to wait until I can give you real proof to actually telly you. It's really incredible, even if I still don't quite believe it myself. _

_Anyway, what I can, and will tell you is that where I've come to is strange, and so surprising that I'm shocked that you've never found it for yourself. It's a massive landmass that's covered in ice and snow for the most part, but what parts of it I've seen so far are fertile, and rich with life. The deer, elk and even moose here grow enormous. More than that there's these giant animals with long tusks and thick wool covering their bodies. I've never even heard of such things from Johann._}

Astrid looked up at the man, "Tusks and wool?"

"Ring any bells, Stoick?" Gobber asked.

"None," the big man shrugged, "I've never heard of such a beast, either."

{_The gold and jewels I've sent are to help with the village upkeep if things get bad with the Dragons. Hopefully they won't, but it never hurts to be prepared. IF you didn't already know, I sent Gobber some smithing books about some of the metals I've learned about here, and how to recognize them. The axe I sent to Astrid is made out of something called Quicksilver and Ebony. I hope she likes it._}

Astrid whimpered and set Sharpshooter on the table, "You stay right there! Sneaky, watch him!" She set her Terror next to him, who eyed him like a watchful cat.

[_Seriously?_] Sharpshooter groaned.

"Stoick, where'd you leave the parchment and charcoal?"

"In my study, lass," Stoick said loudly, chuckling, "I think she likes the axe."

Gobber snorted, "Ya think?"

Sharpshooter huffed, [_She'd better. Hiccup spent a week working on it nonstop!_]

"Is there anything else?" Gobber asked.

Stoick shook his head, "Just his well-wishes and such," he sighed and sank down into a chair at the table, "Gods, I wish we knew where he was!"

"I wish he knew where he was, Stoick," Gobber put in, "Ya heard the lad, he doesn't recognize the place, and I know that there's no such landmasses around here that are that big."

"Neither do I, and we've both been sailing these waters all our lives." The man sighed and scrubbed his face tiredly, "At least I know he's safe. That's what's important." He then turned his gaze on Sharpshooter, who cringed under that gaze. "Never thought I'd be so thankful to a Dragon." He said, and reached over to tickle him under his chin.

[_At least he won't kill me._] Sharpshooter thought with relief.

Astrid came back rolling up a scroll of parchment, and shoved it into Sharpshooter's harness, giving the little Dragon a heated look, "You take that right back to Hiccup, you hear me?"

Sharpshooter almost responded with a "Yes Ma'am" out of fear before he clamped his mouth shut.

Stoick chuckled, "I'll not ask what you've written, Astrid, I just hope you were kind."

Astrid blushed and fiddled with her braid, "Well, yes and no, I guess?"

Gobber belly laughed loudly, "Oh, I'd give anything to see Hiccup's face when he reads that!"

"Go on, now." Astrid urged the little Dragon. Sharpshooter didn't need to be told twice, and bolted out the window.

As soon as he was in the air, he let out a shriek to alert Toothless. A moment later the larger Dragon exploded into the air beside him. "What happened in there?"

"I got caught, wha'd ya think happened!?" Sharpshooter snapped, and fluttered over to land on Toothless' saddle, "Next time, you make the damned deliveries! And when we get back, I'm getting me a fat sea bass!"

Toothless shook his head, and curved through the air toward their new home. "Just so long as the job's done, that's what matters."

"My tail!" The Terror huffed, "I was scared to death in there!"

"You're scared of your own shadow, Sharpshooter."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Just shut and fly!"

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

When the two Dragons returned it was to find Hiccup waiting for them on top of one of the walls surrounding Solitude. Following him around were several floating lights.

He smiled and dismissed the lights as the two Dragons landed next to him. "You guys got back fast." He smiled and hugged Toothless around his neck while Sharpshooter fluttered to his shoulders. "How'd it go?"

Toothless laughed, "Let's just say you owe Sharpshooter a lot of fish." The Night Fury chortled, "A lot of big fish."

"I reserve my rights to have tuna, and sea bass after what I had to go through!" The Terrible Terror defended himself. "Since Toothless is such a lummox, i had to do all the hard work! I even got caught!"

"You what?!" Hiccup yelled.

"It's true, but from what I heard outside the window, they didn't care all that much about him," Toothless said, "Matter of fact, he said that there was another Terror in there with him."

"Yeah, yeah," Sharpshooter nodded, "It was weird not being able to speak on my behalf, and I couldn't understand a word he was saying, either. Talking to the other humans was a big no-no, sure, but not being able to tell one of my own kind to sod off? Sheesh!"

Hiccup almost laughed, "Sorry, guys, I should've been more considerate." He said, "Next time, it's just letters, promise."

"Speaking of letters," Sharpshooter said and pulled out the scroll Astrid had given him, "That Astrid girl told me to give this to you."

Hiccup took it eagerly and unrolled it.

What he found there made him laugh, and almost cry at the same time.

{_Dear Hiccup, _

_I love the axe. I love you, but I am so punching you in the face when I see you again._

_Love, Astrid_}

[_She loves me,_] he thought with elation as he tucked the scroll into his robes. "Come on, guys. Let's get some food."

"YES!" Sharpshooter cried, "Fishfishfishfishfishfishfish!"

"Don't you ever stop thinking about food?!" Toothless grumbled.

"Hey, I'm a growing boy, and after the day I've had, I could eat a whole whale!" Sharpshooter said.

"I'd like to see you try that," Toothless hooted as he followed after them, "I really would. Then I'd get to see you either get eaten by the whale, or burst from a overfilled stomach."

Hiccup laughed, "I'm so glad I'm made you guys talk. It's not as lonely here anymore."

Toothless and Sharpshooter grinned at each other. "So," Toothless said, "What are you now? Still an Novice?"

"No, I think the book says I'd be considered an apprentice at this point since I've practiced three different types of Magic." He said, "How the tail, by the way?"

Toothless smiled and swished his tail around to show the newly grown fin, "Good as new thanks you."

"It's because of me you lost it in the first place," Hiccup reminded him.

"And look what that got us," Sharpshooter said with chirp, "We are the weirdest flock I've ever laid eyes on."

"He means we're friends," Toothless said laughingly, "Besides, I put my tail behind me a long time ago. Literally."

Hiccup sputtered out a laugh at Toothless' joke as the continued into the castle.

* * *

AN: All's well with the world for now.

Review!


	4. Chapter 4

_Summary: _Heckled by his half-brother, Stoick ignores Spitelout's open disdain for Astrid's new project in training a Tracking Dragon in the form of her favorite Terrible Terror, Sneaky. While Sneaky is up to finding people and animals on Berk, neither Chief of Shield Maiden know if the little fellow is up to finding the absent Hiccup, and leading her to him.

Meanwhile, a cautious Toothless and Sharpshooter return to the village bearing gifts and comfort to those that miss the Heir of Berk. Gobber receives several tomes of smithing books regarding metals that have never been seen before, while Astrid receives a battle axe made of some of the materials that Gobber is to study. His final gift to his father was a gift of wealth in the form of golden _Septims_ and jewels he had acquired in his time away. But thanks to the heavy load that was his gift to his father, Sharpshooter is caught, but not put in danger. Instead he is charged with carrying a message back to Hiccup. Astrid's hidden affections for the young Heir, and her promise of a strong reprimand upon his return.

* * *

**Falkreath**

** Sanguinare Vampiris **

* * *

"Remind me again why we're doing this when you have an entire library back at Solitude to thumb through?" Toothless asked as he and Sharpshooter coasted through the air lazily whilst Hiccup was trying to figure out where they were according to the map he was holding.

"Because," Hiccup had the squint to see the landmarks on the map since the ink was faded slightly, "If the note I found in the 'Book of the Last Dragonborn' was true, then we should be able to find all of his notes on his alchemical potions." He said to the irritated Dragon. "Trust me, Toothless, this will be well worth the effort if we can find a way to cure some of the diseases that plague Berk."

Sharpshooter flitted down and landed lightly on the saddle, "Don't mind him, Hiccup, he's just grumpy about this cold weather." He said with a flick of his wings at the light snow that was falling around them, "Night Furies can't handle cold all that well, so the like to stay where it's warm during the winter."

Hiccup frowned, "Wow, sorry, I didn't know that, Toothless," he apologies to his friend, "You should've said something, I would have gone on my own."

Toothless huffed out a puff of smoke, "Forget it, Hiccup." He grunted, "My kind may not like the cold, but I sure wouldn't leave a friend to freeze to death when I know a blizzard's on the way. Besides, we're looking for a house, aren't we? Houses have hearths, and that means we can build a fire to keep ourselves warm until it passes."

"And," Sharpshooter put in, "It's nice to fly around outside the castle." He shivered, "I don't know what it is, but that place gives me the oogies."

Toothless snorted, "Oogies? What does that even mean?" In answer Sharpshooter slobbered all over the Night Fury's largest left ear-flap, "_OOGIII_!" Toothless shook his head and threw the Terrible Terror off, "I'll get you for _that_!"

Hiccup held on for dear life as Toothless shot after the cackling Terror as he whizzed to the ground like an arrow. "_GUYS_! Come on!"

"Not this time!" Toothless roared, "Hang on, Hiccup!"

"What do you _think_ I'm doing!?" Hiccup yelled as he clung to the saddle. "Sharpshooter apologize!"

Sharpshooter cackled as the Fury neared him, "Not a chance! That was so worth it!"

"You won't think so when I'm through with you!" Toothless charged up a plasma blast, and shot right at the fleeing Dragon. Sharpshooter yelped and dodged out of the way, "Hold still you little twerp!"

"Yeah, right!" Sharpshooter fled into the treetops, "Catch me if ya can, ya big ox!"

Toothless banked hard as he tried to avoid the eminent crash landing. Hiccup saw no choice but to bail out of the saddle, and grabbed a branch as Toothless crashed into the forest. "Toothless!"

"Son of a - OW!" Toothless roared angrily as he crashed through the trees noisily. Hiccup winced with each crack and splinter of a branch and trunk as some smaller trees toppled over from the force of his crash. He clambered over to the trunk of the spruce tree he had grabbed and shimmied down. He was then treated to Sharpshooter's uproarious laughter.

"Now that's a good look for you, Toothy!" The smaller Dragon cackled as Hiccup touched the ground and saw the larger of the pair dangling from a collection of trees, trapped by what looked like grapevines. "HA! Not so nice being the bigger Dragon, now, is it?" Sharpshooter was almost rolling on the ground in laughter as Toothless grumbled and growled from where he hung, his mouth also wrapped in the vines, preventing him from either attacking, or talking. Probably a good thing on both accounts, considering he looked ready to murder the little Terror.

Hiccup shook his head and groaned, "This is not how I wanted this trip to go!" He sighed and strode up to the dangling Dragon, "Toothless, you alright?"

"Mph humph," he grumbled with a sharp nod of his head. He tried to wriggle out of the vines, but he was well and truly stuck, "Mph humph mph!"

"Don't worry, Sharpshooter will get you down." Hiccup said, looking at the smaller Dragon with stern face, "Won't you?"

Sharpshooter stood up on his hind legs and crossed his front paws, "Does he promise that he won't try to hurt me?"

Toothless grumbled angrily, but not ultimately nodded, not seeing other way to break his binds. Satisfied, Sharpshooter whizzed up and started burning through the vines. Toothless didn't mind a bit since it was warming his chilled hide. What he did mind was when the vines all snapped and he was dumped to the ground in a heap. Sharpshooter jumped off of his back just as he hit the ground.

The Night Fury growled and tore off the remaining vines, a look of pure mayhem in his eyes. Hiccup went to intervene when he advanced on the smaller Dragon, "Hey, now, you promised not to hurt him, remember?" Hiccup reminded him with Sharpshooter nodding frantically behind the safety of a tree.

Toothless narrowed his eyes, "I lied." With a roar he was after Sharpshooter again as the little fellow screeched and scuttled through the underbrush. "Come back here you little runt!"

"Toothless!" Hiccup chased after the pair of them.

Sharpshooter scurried in and out of sight as he ducked and dodged around trees and stumps while Toothless roared through the forest like an angry boar. "Can't we talk this out?!"

"_After_ I chew you up and spit you out!" Toothless snapped as he crashed into a rotten stump and stumbled. "Oof!" He tumbled into a deep growth of ferns.

Sharpshooter cackled, "Serves ya right, ya big bully!"

Toothless' head popped out of the ferns and shot a blast at the little joker, making him scurry off again."Come back here and fight like a Dragon, dammit!" Toothless bounded after him.

Meanwhile, Hiccup was struggling the keep up with the bickering Dragons, "Oh, come on!" He leaned against a tree for support, "I'm not built to chase Dragons, guys! Don't leave me behind!"

Sharpshooter, well ahead of the pack, was taking a small break in his retreat, "Okay, lesson learned," he panted, "Night Furies do not have a sense of humor!" He sighed and trotted out of his little hiding place to look around. "Wait a minute. Wasn't Hiccup looking for a house on a hill with a lake in view?" He wondered to himself as he caught sight of a huge lake a short distance away. He looked around some more, and found that there was indeed a large hill heading up toward a mountain. "Oh, boy! I earned my fish this time!" He squeaked and took flight -

\- only to be pounced on by a very large, very angry Dragon.

Toothless' paw came down on his back just as he was taking off, and nearly crushed him into the ground, "Got'cha now, Sharp!"

"Okay, okay, okay! I'm sorry!" Sharpshooter shouted in panic as he scrabbled to get out from under the larger Dragon's grip, "I'll never pull another prank on you as long as I live! Honest!"

Toothless chortled, "Now _why_ don't I believe you?"

"Ysmir's beard! What d'ya want? A written apology?" Sharpshooter snarked, "Sorry, but I don't have fingers, and I can't read worth a lick!"

"Uh-huh, that's why you're gonna give me as many flounder as you can catch in a day for the next month." Toothles grinned.

Sharpshooter squawked, "Are you nuts?! You know how deep they like to live! I'm no Scaldron!"

"Then there's just one thing to do." Toothless lifted his paw and thrust himself forward before the smaller Dragon could get away, and landed smack dab on top of him.

"_SKREEE-OOOKKK_!" Sharpshooter roared from beneath the larger Dragon. "Gerroff me, Toothless!"

Toothless chose to ignore him for the time being until he heard Hiccup blundering through the brush. The boy was ragged and breathless as he stumbled into the area below the hill, sweat beading his face, "You guys...are...jerks!" He panted as he collapsed next the the black Dragon.

Toothless looked slightly apologetic, "Dragons are vengeful creatures, Hiccup," he explained, "I really couldn't help myself."

Hiccup just rolled his eyes, "Just tell me you _didn't_ eat him?"

"Course not," huffed the large Dragon, "I wouldn't eat a Terrible Terror if I was starving to death!"

Suddenly Sharpshooter's head popped out from under Toothless' torso, "Gee, glad to know you appreciate my kind's flavor, ya big oaf!" He snapped, wriggling to get free, "Now get the heck off'a me!"

Toothless didn't move, "Oh, I don't know," he droned on in amusement, "I'm pretty comfortable right now."

"Sure you are, and I'm a _human_!" Sharpshooter snapped, "Look, I think I might've found that house that Hiccup was looking for!"

Hiccup looked down at him as Toothless just barely raised up to let him out, "How do you know?"

Sharpshooter huffed as he puffed out his chest to re-inflate himself after being flattened. "Look, there's the lake down there," he made gesture with his tail, then pointed with his right wing, which looked slightly crooked, "And there's the hill. You think that's a coincident? I don't think so!" He flexed his right wing again, "Ugh, I think it's _sprained_!"

"Here," Hiccup shuffled forward and started using the Healing Hands spell he had learned from Solitude's library. The golden glow that erupted from his hands immediately soothed the ache in Sharpshooter's wings. "Better?"

"Much." Sighed the Terrible Terror. "Now how about we get out of this snow before I freeze my tail off?"

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

"I take it back," Sharpshooter squeaked a short time later as Toothless forced the rusted doors open, "This place gives me the real creeps!"

Toothless grunted, "Lick my ear _again_, and I'll flatten you."

"Seriously!" The little Dragon squeaked, "This place is just plain creepy! How many animal heads does one human need? And why?" He asked as he surveyed the numerous mounted animals hanging from the walls.

It wasn't just animals, though.

Hiccup noted numerous armor and weapon stands around the home, as well as a large upper level. It was perfectly preserved as well. Aside from the rusted hinges on the outer doors, the home was perfect. "This place is great!"

"Yeah, yeah, where's the hearth?" Shivered Toothless as he barged forward intent on lighting a roaring fire. He didn't have to go far as the main hall had a massive fireplace situated in the center of the room with a small supply of firewood sitting next to it.

"Try not to set the house on fire, alright?" Hiccup chuckled as the Dragon tossed the entire stash into the hearth before letting loose a blast to ignite it.

"Think there's anything worth taking?" Sharpshooter asked, still spooked by the mounted heads.

Hiccup shook his head, "Dunno, but if we can find that book, then we can leave all the faster."

"Know what it looks li - Are you seriously _sleeping_?!" Sharpshooter suddenly squawked as Toothless let out a loud snore. Hiccup nearly tripped when he realized that his friend had indeed fallen asleep in front of the hearth as the fire blazed.

"Oh, gods." Hiccup moaned, "You know he's not gonna wake up until tomorrow?"

Sharpshooter huffed, "I'd almost risk licking his ear again to wake him!"

"Almost?"

"_Almost_," the little Dragon nodded, "He'd probably squash me for real next time!"

And so the pair searched the house. To the left side of the main hall was a bed chamber, where they found one large bed, and two smaller beds meant for children. Nearest the large bed were shelves and wardrobes, both of which Hiccup and Sharpshooter searched, finding nothing but clothes, and a few pieces of gold and jewelry. There were a few books in the room, but they seemed to be history books and children's stories.

Sharpshooter started searching the chests at the foot of each bed, but found much the same as in the wardrobes, aside from a few children's toys such as dolls and wooden swords.

"There's nothing worth carrying back in here," Sharpshooter huffed as he slammed a chest shut, "Are you sure the note said that the book was here?"

Hiccup sighed whilst he sat on the edge of the large bed, "It said that he hid his personal alchemy recipes at the Lake View Manor in Falhreath." Hiccup said and ran his hands through his hair, "Unless the map was wrong, or we were tricked, then it has to be here."

"Yeah, but this place doesn't look like it has one of those library thingies?" Sharpshooter said, "The one back at Solitude was huge, and this place looks too small for something like that."

"Hey, all we can do is keep looking," the boy sighed, and took to his feet again, "You rest for a while, I'm gonna go check the back room."

Sharpshooter nodded his head, "No arguments here." He sighed and hopped up onto one of the smaller beds to curl up.

"_WHOAH_!"

The little Dragon was up in a flash at the human's shout and out the door, "Hiccup!"

Hiccup poked his head around the corner of the hearth, "It's okay, Sharpshooter, I just got spooked."

"By what?" He asked and flitted around to land on his shoulder.

"By _this_," Hiccup gestured to the double doors in front of him.

Sharpshooter took a look inside, and paled horribly. "By the gods!" Inside the room were more mounts. Full-sized body mounts. Some familiar, others alien. Giant spiders, rats, wolves, bears and a feline creature with massive teeth. A withered corpse that held a bow and arrow. An seemingly albino elf creature that crouched down on all fours like a beast. A massive insect. A woman with thin branch-like like limbs and a long beak-like nose. Two massive ape-like creatures with three eyes, and the skull of an unknown Dragon species.

"I don't like this place," the little Dragon whimpered, "can we just leave it?"

"For now," Hiccup nodded, closing the doors.

Visibly shaken up by the sight of so many dead creatures, the pair started checking the small safes they found sitting against the walls. "Thank goodness these just have pin hinges," Hiccup muttered as he pulled the door of one such safe open. Inside was another small fortune in gold and jewels. "Man, whoever this Last Dragonborn was, he sure was rich."

"He was a _butcher_," Sharpshooter muttered bitterly, "I may have to hunt to feed myself sometimes, but I don't do..._that_!" He spat back at the trophy room, "What's the point of doing such a thing?!"

"Some humans just...I don't know, I think they do it to feel proud of their kills, and to remember the hunt." he sighed, "My dad never took trophies, though, not even when he bested a Dragon. Spitelout, though, his house is full of deer, wolves, and bears."

"Disgusting," Sharpshooter snapped as he pulled the door of another safe open, "No offense, Hiccup, but I'll never understand huma- _Ahck_!" The door swung open, and out slid a small, wrapped parcel. "Ow...what the heck is this?" The little Dragon asked as he picked it up. "Smells like...metal?"

"Lemme see," Hiccup said as he crouched down next to him. Sharpshooter let him have a look as he sat back to watch him unwrap it. It was long, and wrapped in a white cloth, and warm to the touch. When Hiccup unwrapped it, a glow erupted from inside. "What the - Freya! It's a sword!" Hiccup swore as the cold metal of a blade rested in his hand.

"Wow!" Sharpshooter had to shield his eyes before the glow began to dim, "I didn't know swords could glow like this?"

Hiccup smiled and shook his head, "They don't...this has to be a Magic sword!" He began to inspect the sword, marveling at the craftmanship. It was a one-handed sword which appeared to be made from Ebony. Resting it in his hand, he saw that there was an inscription on the blade, "Bane...of the...Undead..._Dawnbreaker_..."

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

"It was good of you to summon us like this, Stoick," said an elderly Viking that leaned on a long spear for support, "What you've learned to keep the Dragons away will be invaluable. I can finally pass leadership unto my son without having to worry about him."

Stoick chuckled as he patted the old man on the back, "It was the least I could do, Oswald." He said, "We've been fighting them for so long, but now it would seem we may not have to anymore. Driving them off like this may prove even better.

"That it may, my friend, that it may," Oswald the Agreeable smiled with a slight bob of his head, "I was saddened to hear of the loss of your son, however." He said, "You know that Dagur was fond of him. As was Heather. I had hoped to _wed _the two of them. A joining of our tribes would have benefited us both, you know?"

Stoick sighed, "Aye, it would have, but even if my son returns, I have plans to make Astrid his wife." He said, "And I wouldn't wish Snotlout on _any_ woman. Not after the way he acted toward the lass, and how he lied to me of his actions."

"She's a fine girl, I'll give you that," Oswald said, smiling, "In this village, I doubt there would be a finer woman to have Hiccup marry. But are you quite sure that he _will_ return?"

"I'm not," Stoick admitted, "But you know Astrid is quite determined to find him, especially now that we know that he's alive." He chuckled, "I never imagined that some Dragons could be trained like that little rascal, Sneaky, or the little fellow that Hiccup sent to us."

"If we can do the same with others, then it will certainly make communication between tribes all the more easier," Oswald said, chuckling as well, "And I'm willing to bet that my son wouldn't mind a little Terror sitting on his shoulder."

"He would want a _Skrill_," Stoick snorted with amusement before spotting a woman coming toward them, "Phleg, I thought you were with Gothi today?"

The woman, Phlegma the Fierce, one of their best Shield Maidens, was looking rather pale. "I was, and I just came from there." She said and jerked her thumb over her shoulder, "There's something you _both_ need to see."

Both men gave each other a worried look before following the woman toward Gothi's hut. Gothi was waiting for them, looking worried for whatever reason Stoick couldn't know until the tiny elder led them into the back room where she kept her worst patients. Inside the room were rows of cots, and a blazing hearth that she swore killed off infections due to the high heat.

"What is it that you wanted us to see?" Stoick asked as the two women led them to the one occupied cot in the room.

Gothi stood by the person, their face covered by the thin cloth blanket, and scratched out, "This boy was brought to me late last night," she reached over and pulled the blanket away from his face, revealing a young man no older then ten or eleven summers. "His family said that he came home from the forest, weak and pale. He rambled on about some sort of _creature _that took his blood." She then pointed to a nasty bruise on the boy's left shoulder, "He did not last the night, and passed just before the cracking of dawn."

Phlegma frowned sadly, "I knew the boy, Stoick, and he was never one to fib, even if it meant a sore bottom. Whatever happened to him, there was a creature out there that attacked him."

"A Dragon, perhaps?" Oswald queried with a stroke of his beard, "But I know of no Dragons that are _blood drinkers_."

Gothi stamped her staff for attention before pointing at the boy's neck, "These are _not_ the teeth marks of a Dragon," she scratched, "The bite radius is almost that of a human, but it also seems almost canine. The closest bite if have seen compared to this is that of a medium sized _bear_."

Stoick bent over the corpse to examine the bite wound. There was a stench that wafted up from the mark, which had turned black and putrid after only a single night. The skin around it, which he thought had been a bruise due to the bite force of his attacker, was not a bruise at all, but veins of blackish color. [_Poison_?]

Oswald sniffed, "I smell a foul odor from the child," he said, "Reeks of death, and age. Whatever attacked him was old, and had killed many times. The wound aside, a hound would be able to track this beast down easily."

"I loosed a hunting hound this morning after I heard about the death," Phlegma sighed, "I followed its trail for a ways until I found the dog." She shook her head, "Whatever it is, it killed the hound like it was nothing. So it's bigger than the bite suggests. Big bodied, small of mouth. And _smart_."

"How do you mean?" Stoick asked.

"I mean I chased the dog's trail all around the island before it led me near _straight back _to the village." She said, "It led me in a circle before killing the poor beast, and leaving it drained of blood. Just like poor Henrik." She said, looking down at the corpse.

Oswald hummed in thought, not liking the sound of any of this. "Gothi," he said to the elder, "I know it's in bad taste, but we may need to take a few precautions."

"Such as?" She scratched.

"Tie the boy's big toes together with strong twine," he said, "Hide some straw in his clothes, and place an open pair of iron scissors on his chest."

Stoick looked at him sharply, "_Draugr_?"

"Perhaps," the man said, "I know it's an old story, but one can never be to careful when something like this happens." He said, "Draugr were known to be flesh eaters and blood drinkers, but this boy only has a bite on his neck where his blood was obviously drained, and I see some sort of bruising on his upper arms that suggest he was held while the fiend drank its fill before letting him go. But it did not partake of his flesh as a Draugr would. So what could this creature be?"

Gothi shook her head and scratched, "I don't know myself, but I will do as you ask. The boy will be set upon a pyre within another day."

"We should know if he'll turn long before then," Oswald said, before handing a small pouch of coins to the woman, "For his family."

Stoick nodded his thanks to the man as the two of them left the hut. In the coming hours of the night, the Chief arranged for a hunt with Phlegma leading the charge alongside Astrid and Sneaky.

Sneaky's reaction to the scent that he was set on was surprising. The little Dragon looked as though he was furious, and tore up the afflicted ground with his talons and scorched it with his fire until Astrid told him to search. Sneaky took to the trail like a hound after a boar.

"What are we even _looking _for?" Spitelout demanded of his half-brother, "The ramblings of a dying child - "

"One more word and I'll cut you _myself_, Jorgenson." Phlegma snapped, "And don't think I wouldn't cut through whoever you choose to hide behind." She added with a pointed look at the chief who raised his hands.

Astrid giggled quietly until she noticed that her little friend had stopped and was circling above their heads. "Chief!" She called out.

Stoick moved up beside her, looking up at the little Dragon. "Has he lost the scent, lass?"

Astrid shook her head, "No, he wouldn't lose it. He's got a nose better than _any_ hound." She whispered, "And look how upset he is." She pointed to the little fellows jaws that were spouting small bouts of flames aggressively. "It's almost like he's trying to spook off a _predator_."

Stoick nodded, "Arm yourselves," he called back to the hunters that consisted of Phlegma, Spitelout, Astrid's father Stenvar, Fishleg's father Crookleg Ingerman. "It's got to be here somewhere."

Astrid nodded in agreement, and whistled up at her Dragon, "Sneaky! Flush!" The command issued, Sneaky shot right into the treetops screeching at the top of his little lungs. Waiting with baited breath, the hunters saw the branches above begin to erupt with activity. Sneaky's little bursts of flame had gotten something moving alright, and the little Terror was not letting up. Screeching and flaming Astrid caught a few glimpses of her littler friend as well as a larger creature crashing through the branches. A dark grey creature with a leathery hide.

"Phlegma, there!" Astrid shouted out as Sneaky passed through a gap in the branches. Phlemga knocked her arrow and drew back to loose the bolt just as the creature chased after the little menace, and struck it.

With a roaring screech, whatever the beast was tumbled from the branches and landed heavily. Astrid was about to close in and finish it off but was stopped by Stoick, "Easy, Astrid, I want to see what we're dealing with first." He said, but that didn't stop either her or the others readying their weapons as Sneaky came whizzing down to his mistress' shoulders.

Stoick didn't need to see the little fellow to know that he was still on edge. He could hear it in his growls and smell the sulfur from his breath. This wasn't over.

The creature rolled onto its stomach and lifted itself up. Astrid paled. It was no Dragon, but a massive, hairless bat! The beast snarled at the hunters as it revealed a shortened, canine-like muzzle with the circular shape of a human's. The nose was drawn back, unlike a bat's, almost as if the skin had been removed or stretched out too far. On each wing tip was a long, razor sharp claw as well as four talons on each foot plus a massive back claw on the heel.

Phlegma's arrow had hit the massive bat in the rib cage, burying itself deep in the leathery hide, but the beast didn't seem to care one lick about the barb. Its eyes were narrowed hungrily at the hunters.

"That's no Draugr," Stoick growled, "Phlegma, put one right between its eyes!"

Phlegma loosed another arrow right away at the chief's command, but the bat creature ducked low, and launched itself at them. Screeching loudly, Sneaky propelled himself off of Astrid's shoulder and slammed into the bat's face scratching biting with all his might as the monster howled and tried to dislodge him. Astrid saw this as an opportunity and rushed in to wet her new axe.

The bat must have heard her coming because it started thrashing fiercely, throwing its wings out in an attempt to hit her. She ducked under the left wing aimed at her, and brought her axe up slicing through bone and wing membrane.

The wing fell away cleanly, but the bat rounded on her right away before she could get clear of the danger zone. Jaw wide open, the bat snapped at her, forcing a shout from her as one of the fangs nicked her right shoulder.

Stoick and Spitelout barged their way into the fight as the chief shouldered the beast away from the girl while Spitelout slammed his mace into the remaining wing, shattering the bones. Sneaky started flaming the creature's face madly as he continued his fight against the much larger animal.

"Sneaky, move!" Astrid hollered as she moved in, her axe held high. Sneaky saw the danger and immediately jumped clear as his mistress brought her axe down on the monster's neck.

The carved blade of her axe sliced right through flesh and bone while the creature's head fell away. Astrid panted heavily as her axe rested on the ground feeling incredibly drained.

Sneaky darted back to her side, and started fretting over her, licking the spot she had been bitten with his raspy tongue.

Stoick and the others were too busy examining the creature she had helped kill to notice, however.

"Never seen the likes of this kind'a creature before," Spitelout said whilst kneeling next the body. He prodded it with his mace, "Bats don't normally get _this _big. Hel, not even _half_ the size of that Dragon Astrid carries around."

Stoick nodded, agreeing with his half-brother, "Where did it come from, though?"

Crookleg hobbled forward to have a look for himself, "Better question to ask," he said, kicking the head with his good leg, "Was it _alone_?"

Stenvar nodded, "Aye, bats live in huge groups, don't they?" He asked looking to Phlegma, "But we'd have noticed something like that. Astrid's always out here, aren't you, Dearest?"

Astrid didn't answer. "Astrid?" Phlegma turned around. Astrid had knelt to the ground, paler than death, and covered in sweat, "Oh Freya! Stoick!" She screamed, rushing to the girl's side to alert the chief.

Stoick turned and saw the condition the girl was in, "What in blazes - !?"

"Astrid!" Stenvar howled as he rushed to his daughter's side, "What's happening?! She wasn't like this a moment ago?!"

Astrid looked at the gathered adults, "I...it..._bit_...me..." She slumped over, barely able to breathe as she was lifted into her father's arms. Sneaky was screeching frantically as he pawed at her injured shoulder.

Stenvar took the hint and pulled her tunic back to reveal an inch long cut on her shoulder. "Son of a bitch, she was bitten!" He wailed, "Stoick, what do we do?!"

"Back to the village! Take her straight to Gothi!" Stoick order, "Sneaky, come here!" He called the little Dragon to his arm, to which he reluctantly went. "I need to see Oswald. Spitelout, Crookleg, set that monster ablaze and make sure _nothing _remains!"

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Astrid was whisked back to the village with all the haste of a running Speed Stinger Dragon and brought before Gothi. The elder was devastated upon seeing the girl with the same symptoms as young Henrik before his death, but was quick to set about disinfecting the wound. She discovered that the wound was rather clean already thanks in no small part to Sneaky's tongue licking out the injury of the monster's toxins. She applied a tree moss to her shoulder, and tea of the same moss to break her fever as the girl was burning like a hot coal.

Stenvar and Aranea were by her side throughout the night until dawn broke out, her condition having not improved, only worsened with the rising of the sun. Her skin was getting paler by the minute, and she was ravaged by an unquenchable thirst, so much so that Gothi had to deny her the soothing water lest she drown herself.

The very same markings that appeared on Henrik's neck were now appearing on Astrid's shoulder, but in greater numbers, and were still spreading. What puzzled the woman most about her worsening condition was the girl's sunken, reddening eyes. Eyes that were beginning to give off a slight glow.

"Water..._please_...water!" Astrid begged as afternoon began. Gothi took pity on her and gave her a small cup. Secretly, however, she had laced the drink with a sleeping agent that she used to ease the suffering of some of her worst patients. It wouldn't end her life as it had some, but it would put her out of her misery for the moment until she woke again.

Her parents were grateful to her as their daughter slept.

While she did, Gothi took the time to hobble to Stoick's house where she found the chief, Oswald and his two children deep in discussion over the recent happenings.

"I've never heard of such a monster before," Oswald sighed as he was at a loss over what to do about Astrid's failing condition. "If it was the same creature that attacked that poor boy, then she will no doubt die, but she's taking far longer than the poor lad did. He was dead within a few hours of the attack. Astrid's obviously fighting it off, whatever it is."

Heather, his second oldest child and only daughter, sighed, "Astrid's always been a fighter, no matter what it was," she said sadly, "I'm just sorry that there's nothing that we can do about it." She looked to Gothi, only just noticing the woman. "Elder? How is she?"

Gothi shook her head, scratching, "She is likely to die within the next day or so." She frowned, "Whatever this beast was, its bite must be venomous to bring her down so quickly. Even rabid animals take time to reach such a stage, yet it has only been half a day since she was injured, and so lightly at that. A wound such as hers would not have bothered Astrid Hofferson when I know that she has had wounds a thousand times worse."

Stoick nodded, "Aye, and that's why I'm hoping that Sneaky's gotten the help I've asked for."

Dagur looked at the chief, "What help? I thought you were training that thing to find Hiccup?"

"Exactly," the chief said, "he may know how to help her, and yet, he may not. But if she is to die, then I would rather have him by her side before she goes. I owe them both that much."

The door to the house burst open. "_GOTHI_!" Roared a man in panic, "Where is he!? Where is my son!?"

Gothi was a little startled, and scratched, "What do you mean? Henrik should still be in my hut where he awaits you?"

"I just came from there, Elder Gothi, but I assure you that he was not there!" The man wailed, "All that I found was the twine you used to bind his toes and that scissors you placed on his chest!"

Stoick and others rose, "Hajvarr, you mean to say someone took his body?"

"Yes!" Hajvarr cried, "My only boy, dead and some sick fool takes him before I can give him a proper burial!"

Gothi shook her head, "He was still there when I left to come see the chief," she scratched, "No one was there aside from Astrid and her family."

Oswald looked at the devastated father and the elder, frowning deeply, "No one has stolen the child, Hajvarr." He said, drawing all of their eyes, "He must have gotten up and left on his own."

"But he was dead!" Hajvarr shouted, "I held him when he went cold in my arms! How could - "

"He's not _dead _anymore," Heather breathed out, "Dad's right, Stoick. He's a Draugr, now!"

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

AN: The village is now in full-blown panic as the dead begin to walk.

Also, Spanish Moss has been known to help in healing infected wounds, and been used in making a tea that helps bring down fevers, however, unless you are knowledgeable in herbology, do not attempt to use any plants to treat ailments as some mosses can be toxic.

Also: Adding _Heather_ to the pairing? Opinions?

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

_Summary:_ While in search of a book containing the alchemical knowledge of The Last Dragonborn, Hiccup and friends stumble upon an extraordinary find in the form of an enchanted sword called Dawnbreaker; a sword that glows with the light of the dawn, and drives away the undead.

Meanwhile, a mysterious creature preys upon the citizens of Berk, killing a small boy, and laying Astrid low as the girl falls ill from a single wound on her shoulder from the creature's fang. Oswald the Agreeable believes that the creature is turning both the dead boy and Astrid into creatures known as Draugr, a flesh eating, blood drinking corpse risen from the dead.

His suspicions seem to be proven right when the boy's father finds that his son has disappeared from Gothi's medical hut, and of his own power. Now the race begins as Stoick sends Sneaky out on a mission to call for help while the hunt for young Henrik begins as Astrid grows ever weaker.

* * *

**Warning**: Chapter contains racial comments. No offense is intended by the author.

* * *

**Falkreath**

**The Archmage**

* * *

Sneaky's wings were tired and aching as he flew through the mist, following the scent of his target, faint though it was. But the little Terror was determined to follow through to the end of his flight. The only thing that mattered to him was finding the one called Hiccup, and bringing him back to Berk. The big man had told him that he could possibly save his mistress.

Primitive as his species had become, guilt was still an ever present emotion in all Dragons, large or small. Sneaky himself felt responsible for what was happening to her. A foul Magic was being cast over his mistress, he knew that all too well from the smell of her wound. When he had tried to clean it out, the noxious venom had burned his tongue so badly that no amount of water or ice could soothe it. It weakened him because it left him no way to eat.

But even though he suffered for her, his mistress was still suffering a much more horrible fate.

He could not let that happen.

As he flew, he finally passed through the mist and came out over a massive expanse of land covered in snow, and surrounded by mountains. Here the scent was strong, and easier to follow. And follow it he did.

His wings nearly gave out as he fluttered tiredly over an icy field of frozen sea water before he made landfall, just barely managing not to collapse once he found a safe perch upon a branch of a spruce tree.

In the distance he saw a large human dwelling he remembered was called a castle. It was there that the scent seemed the strongest, he also smelled food. Something he desperately needed. He dropped from the branch and glided toward the castle grounds, desperately searching.

His search was rewarded when he flew above the gates, and heard the clanging of metal against metal. A hammer against Steel. A forge!

Sneaky whizzed down toward the source of the noise and nearly blundered right into a rotten flag pole before he spotted his target, working diligently away on what looked like a ling blue stick. What humans called a spear.

He shrieked out a greeting toward him, causing the young blacksmith to look up. "What the -?"

"Sneaky!" Shouted a familiar Terrible Terror that Sneaky recognized. "Hiccup, this is the Terror that Astrid was training!" Sharpshoot said as Sneaky all but crashed into the ground in a heap in front of them. Hiccup dropped what he was doing and knelt next to him.

"He looks like he's in a bad way, too," the boy said as a warm glow encompassed his hands. Sneaky sighed as the glow warmed him and soothed his aching body of the strenuous flight. Next he heard the young man speak words he did not know and felt something change inside of him. He felt more alert. Alive. Whatever he had done to him, Sneaky liked it. "Can you tell me why you're here?"

Sneaky raised his head and...spoke. "I...I can...speak?" He said in disbelief. He shook his head and staggered to his feet, "What...what did you...how did you...?"

Hiccup smiled at the small Dragon, "I'm a Mage, or I will be. I'm almost half-way through my Apprentice level spell tomes."

Sneaky shook his head, "A Mage...I don't know what that means, but if you can make me talk, then maybe that's why the big man told me to come find you." He rasped, and reached around into his harness to pull out the scroll that Stoick had stuffed in it. "He told me to give you this, and bring you back."

Hiccup frowned at him as he took the scroll, rolled it open and paled as he read it.

{_Hiccup, _

_I'm writing this to you in haste. Something terrible's happened and I don't know what to do to stop it. A beast unknown to us attacked and killed a child, and when we went out after it, it bit Astrid. Not a serious wound, but the creature had to have had poisonous bite Because she fell ill almost immediately. Gothi believes that she won't last long for the child didn't last the entire night before passing. _

_What's more is that Oswald the Agreeable believes that she and the boy that was killed will become Draugr. I cannot let that happen, Son, not when she's done so much for us with what you've taught her. _

_I know you may not believe you're worthy of return, but I need you, Son. Astrid needs you_!}

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup roared, and ran for the castle, the two Terrors flying close behind him. Toothless met him half way and carried him the rest of the distance to the castle where he explained to both of his friends the reason of Sneaky's sudden arrival. Toothless didn't like it one bit.

"You're going back, right?" The Fury snorted, "You can't leave her like that!"

"Of course I am!" Hiccup groaned, "But I can't go! I mean Hiccup can't go! I mean - !"

"Hiccup!" Toothless snarled. "Dragons, any of our kind, value to lives of our mates. If it were me, I'd go, damn the consequences, and damn my fate! I'm still going with you either way because I like that girl almost as much as I value our friendship! She's a good mate for you, so don't you go losing your head now when you need it the most!"

Hiccup was startled, yet listened intently. His friend was right. He couldn't let Astrid die. "Okay...Okay!" He snapped, turning toward the castle, "Toothless go get the alchemy pack from my room. Take it down to the docks and put it on that long ship I repaired."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Toothless sighed, and bounded off while the human ran up into the library. Once inside he took out ever tome he could find about Draugr and Undead he could find. Including the book he'd found on Vampirism.

He then took hold of an old to throw over his shoulders, and grabbed a Quarter Staff he had crafted from Ebony to help him with his spell casting. "Alright, let's see if this works." He sighed, lifting the staff up and tapping it on the floor once. A flash of green Transmutation Magic washed over him. His form began to waver and change, growing taller and broader in the shoulders. His voice became deeper. His face grew stubble. His hair darkened to black and his eyes turned from their shades of forest green to a deep icy blue.

Swallowing hard, he strode to the window, looking at his altered face, "Greetings, Chieftain. I am Aragorn, the last Archmage of Skyrim."

Toothless huffed as he came through the doorway, "This is what you came up with?" He shook his head, "I think you should go back as yourself, not as some made up image created from this Magic."

Aragorn (Hiccup) sighed, "I'm going back to help her, but I can't risk them making me stay." He told the Dragon, "I've got too much more to learn from - "

"From books that can be brought with you," the Fury said, shaking his head, "But you'll do what you want to do. Now, let's go before you decide to turn me into a human."

Aragorn smiled, "That's the idea."

Toothless looked at his friend and began backing away, "You...you _wouldn't_!?"

The Mage held out his staff, "Hold still, I don't want to miss."

Toothless turned on his heels, and ran. "HELP!" He spread his wings, but not before he was hit with another blast of green. In an instant Toothless the Dragon was gone. His beautiful black scales turned to dark-toned skin. His wings and tail disappeared from sight.

Toothless stumbled on his two new human legs, and looked down at himself. "This is pushing the _limits _of our friendship, Hiccup!" The former Dragon growled, "This had better not be permanent!"

"Of course not," the altered Mage said, "It's just a simple _Transmutation_, nothing more than that. You'll be back to your old self when we come back."

Toothless shivered, "Shor's bones! I'm colder than when we were out in that snow storm!"

"Well, you're naked, so - "

Toothless frowned, "Right, human's wear _clothes_." He growled and trudged off, "Where did you put that armor? The stuff made from Dragon scales."

"You're really willing to wear _that_?" Aragorn asked, surprised, "I thought that you'd - "

"I'm used to wearing scales, remember?" Toothless said, "And I hope you've got an idea about how we're getting to Berk since I don't have my wings anymore!"

The Mage smiled, "I've got a few ideas about that." He said, "And Toothless, you'd better find a weapon."

"I miss my fangs already!"

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Astrid was fighting for her life. That was the only reason that Gothi could fathom that the girl remained alive for two days as she writhed on her cot. Heather and Ruffnut had been brought in to keep her company at times while her parents took short breaks, but they were never far.

In the mean time, Stoick, Hajvarr, and Dagur were searching for the missing body of Henrik to either bring him back for a proper burial, or put him to rest where he stood.

But the boy, or whoever had taken him, left no trail whatsoever to follow. "I don't understand it," Stoick said as they trekked through the forest surrounding the village, "Even an boy Henrik's size should leave footprints."

"Father once told me that Undead don't leave them," Dagur said, morbidly interested in what was happening. "But he was a little kid, right?"

Hajvarr nodded, "Aye, tiny thing he was." He said sadly, looking at the ground grimly, "What manner of creature takes a man's pride and joy only to stamp on it?"

"One that was not born of this world," Stoick muttered drawing a look from the two men, "If you'd seen the beast what killed him, Hajvarr, you'd think the same thing."

"And now it's trying to take Astrid," Dagur frowned, "Tell me, Stoick. Did Hiccup really fancy her?"

Stoick chuckled, "Aye, he did, fiercely at that. I think the only reason the two of them didn't say anything...Humph, you know I don't really know why they never said anything to each other."

Hajvarr let himself snort, "It's Hiccup, Stoick," he smiled sadly, "Lad overthought everything. We all know that."

Stoick nodded, his eyes on the ground. "Hmm, there's print here." He knelt down, carefully brushing away a few stray leaves, "Small. Definitely a child's."

Hajvarr stepped around the man and looked at the print, "That's...Aye, that's my Henrik. He's missing a toe. You see here?" He pointed to the missing digit, "Lost it due to a bit of frostbite he did."

Stoick sighed, shaking his head sadly, "Then there's no denying it." He stood, "The boy's not human anymore. He died in your arms, and rose not a day later. Question is, how do we deal with him?"

Hajvarr looked at his chief sadly, "You won't have to, Stoick." He said, "He's my son. I'll...I'll do what needs be done."

"I don't know if I'd even be strong enough to do what you're about to do," Stoick shook his head before reaching out to grasp the man's shoulder, "Gods be with you."

Hajvarr nodded, and stood up. Looking back at his chief, and the young heir of the Berserkers he turned on his heels and strode off into the forest.

Meanwhile, back in the village, Astrid was getting worse and worse.

"Please, Astrid, you have to eat something," Heather said softly to the young woman, "You'll only get weaker if you don't."

Astrid, her eyes black and sunken in, her skin a sickly grey felt her stomach churn at the very idea of food. "I'm sorry, Heather, but..." She clamped her mouth shut as bile began to rise. Ruffnut was quick to find and place a bucket within reach as the girl turned and vomited.

Heather sighed as she set the bowl of chicken broth down, "Just try to hold on." She pleaded, hating to see her friend in such a state, "Stoick's sent for help, so - "

Astrid moaned, "It would be kinder just to kill me." She muttered, "I don't want to turn into whatever Henrik did."

Ruffnut's hand itched to slap her, "Are you really okay with just giving up like that?" She demanded, "I ain't the smartest gal in the village, but I know enough to know that you would never just lay down and die."

Astrid pulled back the fur that was wrapped around her body, showing the two women her chest where the blackish veins had spread from her wound. "Why do you think I've lasted this long?" Astrid sighed, pulling the cover back up. "I don't want to die. I wanna live so I can punch my stupidly smart idiotic betrothed in the nose for leaving me behind."

Heather and Ruffnut giggled. "You really were sweet on him this entire time, weren't you?" Heather asked, "Father always had ideas about letting him marry me to form a stronger connection between our tribes, but I think I'd have a hard time competing with you of all people."

Ruffnut scoffed, "No competition at all," she said, grinning, "No offense Heather, but Hiccup's been moon-eyed over Astrid since we were little."

"More's the pity then, because I heard tell that he'd grown into quite a handsome young blacksmith." Heather giggled as she saw a bit of life returning to Astrid's features as they spoke about the boy.

Gothi returned then, frowning as she saw that the girl hadn't had a drop of the broth she had made for the girl, scratching as much on the floor. "Gothi says you should at least try to have some of the broth." Ruffnut said, "I know it'll probably come back up, but you need something."

Astrid nodded slowly whilst Heather took up the bowl. Ruffnut supported her head as Heather touched the bowl to her lips. "Ow." Astrid groaned as the lip of the bowl clicked against her teeth.

"Sorry." Heather frowned. She kept herself quiet as she and Ruffnut saw the girl open her mouth wider, drinking a small amount of the broth. Both of them taking note that the teeth the bowl had come up against were a small but growing pair of fangs protruding from her upper gums.

As soon as she'd taken a couple of swallows, however, she choked, "I'm sorry...ack...I...I can't - "

"It's okay, Astrid," Heather said, taking the bowl away from her and letting her rest. "You did your best."

Gothi scratched something on the floor, "She said her parents are here to take over." Ruffnut said whilst tucking the girl back in, "Guess we're being kicked out, huh?"

Heather nodded reaching out to pat Astrid's hair, "We'll come back in a little while."

Astrid didn't respond. Her pains were starting up again.

Ruffnut and heather lead each other out, passing Stenvar and Aranea Hofferson on the way out. They smiled silently at the two young women, unwilling to speak. The girls understood. "Is it me," Ruffnut whispered, "Or did Astrid suddenly grow a pair of snake fangs?"

"The red glow in her eyes is getting brighter, too." Heather sighed, "Whatever's happening to her, I don't think she's becoming a Draugr."

"Then what's going on?" The blonde frowned, "Like I said, I'm not the smartest in the village, but she looks - "

"Dead." Heather nodded in agreement, "But she's fighting it. I don't know how she's held on this long, honestly."

Ruffnut shook her head, "Stubbornness. Pure and simple." She said, glancing back at the hut, "But I envy her strength. I doubt anyone could put up with that for so long."

The warning horn sounded; three short blasts. A ship was coming into the harbor.

The two girls looked down toward the docks to see a massive long ship...setting itself down into the water. "What the name of -?" Heather breathed out as she spotted Stoick charging down toward the ship with her brother carrying their father on his back close behind him. Gobber was hobbling behind them as well while Spitelout sped passed him with his sword drawn. Behind him stumbled Snotlout.

"My eyes must be crazier than my head, cause I swear that ship was just floating a minute ago." Ruffnut rubbed her eyes.

"No, I think I saw it, too, unless your crazy's contagious." Heather said, frowning.

Ruffnut scoffed, "Can't be, I've been trying to convert the village since I was in swaddling...let's go check it out!"

Down at the dock, Stoick and Berserkers were awaiting the ship's occupants to disembark. Suddenly a little blue shape detached itself from the sails and whizzed down to the big man's shoulder. "Sneaky!" Stoick laughed, happy to see the little rascal. He looked up at the ship, "If you're here, then - "

Two shapes lept from the ship and landed heavily on the dock. Stoick turned to them with a huge grin...only to let it drop. Neither one of these strangers was his son.

One of them was a dark-skinned young man that he had never seen the likes of. He never knew that a man could be near black such as this fellow was. His hair was even darker, and bound in thick braids around his head. He wore an armor of grey-green Dragon scales. He carried a mace made of a black metal that seemed like a broken piece of midnight itself.

The other was strange, but only because he was so slight. He was tall, he supposed, but not to Viking standards. He wore no armor, just robes and a cloak around his shoulders. The only weapons he carried seemed to be a quarter staff that was made from the same metal that the other's mace was made from, and what looked like a sword wrapped at his waist.

"Hale, Strangers," Stoick said, overcoming his disappointment. "What brings you to Berk's shores?"

The cloaked man stepped forward. "I'm surprised that you did not ask about my ship, Chieftain." He said, his voice deep and foreign, "We did just float into you harbor."

Stoick shook his head, "Strange things are happening on my island, but I believe even stranger things happen beyond these waters," he said, "But you have yet to answer my question. And given that you're in the company of this little rascal, then I know for a fact that you know a young man named Hiccup."

"I do, and it was he that sent us here," the stranger said, "I am Aragon, the last Archmage of Skyrim." He said with a bow of his head. "You son came to my shores a month and two weeks past, and has been learning my craft."

Spitelout, having heard him, spat, "Mage? You mean a witch?"

"Wrong," Aragorn said, "Witches tend to practice darker arts than what I am having young Hiccup study such as Necromancy, and summoning otherworldly creatures. My Magic revolves around offensive spells, yes, but I also practice healing spells, which is why I am here." He reached into his cloak and produced a letter, "Hiccup himself wrote this letter of introduction to you, his father, so that you would believe my words. If you do not, then the one called Astrid will die."

Stoick took the letter, breaking the wax seal, and read.

Spitelout, his eyes never leaving the two strangers, gripped his sword tightly. There was something about the one called Aragorn that he did not like. Something familiar. And the fact that he openly admitted to using Witchcraft set the hairs on the back of his neck on end. Then there was the big one. The black one. No normal man could have such dark skin and not be touched by some sort of evil force. Bad enough that his brother was allowing the Hofferson girl to keep a Dragon, small as it was, but to even consider allowing these two -

Stoick folded the letter, "I welcome you to Berk, Aragorn. You, and your companion." He nodded to the dark man. "Or doesn't he speak?"

"I do," the man rumbled, almost like a growl but it was not an aggressive tone. It almost sounded amused, "You may call me Vulon Nah." He smiled, showed stark white teeth that gleamed against his dark lips, "I'm actually a close friend of your son's."

Stoick seemed to brighten at this, "How is he?"

Vulon grinned widely, "He has become a rather adept Mage. I think you would be proud."

Aragorn gave the dark man a look. [_Really, Toothless?_]

Vulon returned the look. [_Payback for turning me into a two-leg_.]

Stoick rumbled out a laugh, "I think you an I should talk more over a few mugs of mead." He smiled, nodding to the dark man, then turned to the Archmage, "And you're right, Master Aragorn. We're wasting time. Come."

The chief and Archmage wasted no more time as the two strode into the village. The Jorgenson father and son duo growled at the ready admittance of the foreigners into their village had the elder Jorgenson on edge, and ready to take action, while the younger Snotlout...

"Where do you get off coming here and throwing your weight around like some big shot?" Snotlout demanded of the dark man, Vulon. He strode right up to the man, who was quite a bit taller than the young Viking, even though Vulon (Toothless) knew that they were the same age. "Did you kill a Dragon to get this armor? Or did you scare it to death with your unnatural black skin?"

Vulon turned his acid green eyes on the shorter boy and growled, "My mother had black skin, and so did my father, and his father before him," Vulon sneered, reaching for his mace, "Do you really want to trade blows with someone that came here to help you, boy?"

"We don't need your kind's help." Snotlout said haughtily, reaching for his own weapon.

Gobber, having arrived late thanks to his leg, stumped forward and shoved the boy out of his way, "You need to shut yer gob before I shut it for ya, Snotbrat!"

Snotlout took offense, "What'd you call me - geh!" Gobber rounded on him, his axe-hand coming up under his chin.

"Shut. Up. Now." Gobber growled, "Astrid is dying. Our finest warrior is dying. These two came here to help because Hiccup asked them to, and you want them to leave just because you don't like the color of one of their skins?"

Spitelout chose to intercede on his son's behalf. "Now, Gobber, Hiccup had no right to - "

"And who are you to decide?" Gobber spun and pointed axe at the man, "You may think you're the chief, but you're not. And your son will never be chief because of _this_ right here!" He pointed to Volun. "Scared of a man just because his skin's a different color, FAH! I've seen men with skin as dark, if not darker than his. Others with skin the color of copper. He's a man just like any other out there, or right here."

Volun nodded his thanks to the crippled warrior, "Thanks for that." He said, frowning at the two Jorgensons. He crossed his arms, "If this is what my friend had to deal with, then it's no wonder that he left."

Gobber sighed and turned to the young man, "Aye, I can't help but agree." He smiled sadly, "If ya don't mind me askin', how did the two of ya meet?"

Volun shrugged, "I was injured in...battle, and Hiccup healed me." He said, then shook his head, "Well, that is the partial truth. I had lost my leg when he and I met, and we traveled together to Skyrim. There he learned to heal and...gave me back my leg." He held out his armor clad leg.

To Volun (Toothless), it wasn't exactly a lie. Without his tail fin, he couldn't fly and after Hiccup and used a _Regeneration_ spell to grow it back, he was his old self again.

Gobber looked at the man strangely for a moment, "Can your friend really help our Astrid?"

Volun nodded, "He can, and he will."

Sharpshooter flew down from the ship, then, and landed on Volun's shoulder. Volun looked at him and shook his head. [_No talking._]

Sharpshooter nodded in understanding.

Gobber chuckled when he saw the little Terror, "Well, if it isn't the little rascal the brought me my smithing books." He smiled, "Come on, I'll be willing to bet that you're both hungry."

Sharpshooter let out a chirp. Volun just nodded, "I could eat."

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

To anyone that looked at him, Aragorn seemed cold and calm as anyone would think a Mage would be, but on the inside Hiccup Horrendous Haddock was sweat worse than when he, Astrid and Toothless ventured into the Nest. Even in his altered state, his father seemed like a giant among men. He always had been. What was worse was the feeling of fear he was getting from the village itself as they made their way to Gothi's hut.

"Why does a cloud of dread hang over the village?" Aragorn asked, keeping up his act as an Archmage. "Has this situation really brought the morale so low?"

Stoick grunted, "It has, friend." He said, "I'm sure my son told you of his tricks he used against the Dragons, and the shame he felt in doing so," the Mage nodded, feeling a pit forming in his stomach, "Astrid used those very same tricks to drive the beasts away, and they've left us alone ever since. She even trained that little rascal, Sneaky, to find people." He stopped and turned to the Archmage, "And she's made it a point to let everyone know that it was my own son that taught her how to use these tricks to drive them off." He sighed, "They accepted this, aye, but to them, it was Astrid that saved us all, not my son...but I could not be more proud of that boy than I was the day he was born."

Inside, Hiccup swallowed down a huge lump in his throat. "He thinks of you often, if that eases your mind." Aragorn said.

"Aye, that it does," the man said, "And, if you should return to his studies, you should tell him that I've betrothed him to Astrid."

[_What_?!] Hiccup shouted internally.

"Truly?" Aragorn tried to sound amused. "I'm sure he'll be very..._pleased _about that."

Stoick chuckled, "She's sweet on the lad. I can tell that much by how much she talks about him at times. And how she's been training Sneaky here." He said as the little Dragon chirped. "I also hope he's been a fine student of yours?"

"He's a fine apprentice," Aragorn said, hoping not to have sounded arrogant or proud of himself. "He focuses mainly on healing Magic, or Restoration and Altercation. He can easily turn normal stone into Iron, and that into Silver."

Stoick raised his brow in surprise, "Yes, well, I think we should - "

"Of course," Aragorn nodded quickly, "M'lady awaits."

It wasn't until Stoick chuckled that he realized that he'd let slip a near damning clue. "Y'know, my son used to call Astrid 'M'lady' all the time." He laughed as they continued up the hill, "She won't admit it, but she always loved when he did that."

"I'll try to curb my tongue." Aragorn said, "Wouldn't want to upset the girl." He frowned, tongue in cheek, "Er, what can you tell me of the creature that caused this illness in her?"

They began their ascent up to Gothi's hut, "At first, Oswald, a fellow chieftain of the Berserker tribe, thought that the killing of young Henrik was done by some sort of corpse creature our people call a Draugr. But they are known for both eating flesh, and drinking the blood of those they kill before the victim turns into one of them. But when Henrik was brought in, he was just barely alive with only a bite on his neck. He had been nearly drained of blood from what Gothi told us after his passing, and we set out after the beast that did the killing. Sneaky here led the charge by sniffing the beast out under Astrid's command, but when we found the fiend, it was hiding in the trees."

"When it was flushed out, we found out that the creature was not a Draugr, but some sort of giant bat." Aragorn looked at him sharply, "Aye, I know it sounds fantastic, but the beast was just as I said. Stood upright it did, and even looked at us as food for a time until we took it down. It was Astrid that ended the beast, too. Took its head clean off with a swing of her axe. But not before it took a bite out of her."

"Hence the reason for her sickness," Aragorn frowned, thinking. "Chieftain, I believe I know what afflicts her. In Skyrim there are many creatures that would seem fantastic to most, even though Dragons dot the skies. One of them, one I thought long extinct, is the Werebat. A creature created by beings known as Vampires."

"Werebat?" Stoick asked as they came up to the hut, "Is that anything like a wolf-headed man?"

"Indeed, but this creature is a guardian of its creator, and remembers nothing of its human life," he went on, "What's more, being in such close proximity to their wards, they tend to be carriers of the same disease that creates Vampires. Blood drinkers to you an me."

Stoick paused outside the door, "And...how long...how long does the infected have?"

"Three days, four if they're strong and fight it off," he said, "This would be the dawning of the third day given she was bitten mere hours before your little Sneaky found us."

Sneaky squeaked, keeping himself silent.

"What about young Henrik? He was bitten and turned within the span of a day?" Stoick asked.

Aragorn had no answer, "Skyrim is long bereft of people due to a great war. With no one to feed on, the Vampires either died out, or moved on to greener pastures." He said, "I'm afraid I can only guess that since they are an Undead creature, Henrik's death triggered the change earlier than it would have if the disease was left to run its course."

"Then there's no more time to delay," Stoick thundered as he threw the door open, "Stenvar, Aranea, Gothi! I've brought help!"

Aragorn entered the hut. He followed the chief back into the sick bay, and all of his acting fell away. Astrid was surrounded by her parents and Gothi as he strode into the room. He saw their mouths moving, but he did not hear them. All he heard was the whimpering of the girl bundled up in furs, and the clack of his staff as it hit the floor.

He didn't know it, but his hands and staff had already begun to glow with his Restoration Magic. The sight of the hardened proof of his Magic was enough to stun even the chief as the man marched past him. Stenvar and Aranea moved away from the bed as Gothi inclined her head toward the Mage. She knew good when she saw it.

Astrid, her face strained and laced with pain, could barely open her eyes and golden glow blinded her, rendering her unable to see who was standing above her. The Mage reached down with his right hand, moving the furs away from her shoulders to bear the wound on her neck.

That same hand glowed fiercely with light as he pressed his palm against the wound. Astrid screamed then, the spell burning away the sickness that was overtaking her.

He heard Stenvar and Aranea shouting in the background, but trusted his father and Gothi to keep them back long enough for his spell to work its wonders. It wouldn't cure her of the disease, but it would buy her more than enough time for him to brew a potion that would. The blackened veins began to recede toward his palm, and her pale complexion began to bright. Her eyes lost their unnatural glow.

Finally, the wound on her shoulder knit itself closed and disappeared, not even a scar remaining.

Aragorn took his hand away, the glow fading to nothing as he leaned on his staff. [_Pathetic! I can float a ship across an ocean, and turn a Dragon into a human, but I can't even use one Restoration spell without collapsing!_]

"Aragorn!" Stoick took him by the shoulders and led him to an empty cot, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," the man nodded, "That...just took more out of me that I thought it would. The infection was stronger than I realized."

Stenvar stood over his daughter in worry, "Did it work, then? Is she cured?"

"No." All eyes turned to Aragorn, "I've bought her time. By the time the infection returns, I should have prepared a potion that will destroy the disease completely." He said, looking at the girl, "You should let her sleep for now. I doubt that it's been easy on her."

Aranea stepped forward and laid a kiss against his brow, "Even if it's just a small amount of time, thank you on my daughter's behalf."

Aragorn shook his head, "Do not thank me," he said, blushing internally, "We still have the unpleasant task of finding the boy that turned."

"His father is out looking for him as we speak," Stoick said, frowning when the man looked at him with disapproval, "Do you not think he can handle it?"

"Could you kill your own son?" Aragorn countered. "A Vampire is ten times more powerful in strength alone than a mortal man. Even as a child, Henrik could rip his father to pieces if he didn't drain him dry. Young, newly turned Vampires are the worst at controlling their thirst for blood, and Henrik is a child. He'll be acting mostly on instincts."

Stoick paled, "I've left him to his death."

"Or undeath," Aragorn quipped sourly. "I know a few spells that would destroy a Vampire, but I'm not overly good at them, extinct as I thought they were." He reached for the wrapped blade at his side, "But I do have something else that may prove useful." He held it out to the chief, "Give this to your finest warrior."

Stoick snorted, and jerked his thumb at the girl asleep only a few feet away. "She's right there, and I believe she prefers axes."

"Let me take it then," a voice said from behind them.

Aragorn turned to find a familiar old friend standing at the door with his sister. Dagur looked excited in a way that showed his berserker blood beneath the surface, but also determined. "I may not be as good as Astrid, but I know how to use a sword if that's what that is."

The Archmage nodded, and pushed himself up off of the cot using his staff. Dagur, seeing his weak condition, came forward quickly to help him. He needn't have as Stenvar and Stoick steadied the man. Aragorn looked at the young Berserker, "Think carefully, friend, because this is no simple blade." He began unwrapping the sword, and the bright glow of the jeweled hilt flooded the room once more with light. The blade was thin, and glowed like fire, the strange ruins down the center of the blade glowing brighter than sunlight. "This is the blade known as Dawnbreaker. I know very little of its purpose, but I know that having this sword means that you are the enemy of all things dark and unnatural in the world. Undead will fear you, perhaps even come for you in fear of this blade."

"Then let them." Dagur said, "I'm not afraid. I'm never afraid."

Aragorn (Hiccup) could only smile as he remembered Dagur saying something similar when they were children. "Then it is yours."

Dagur smiled and took hold of the blade, the jewel above the cross guard glowing ever brighter.

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Hiccup will encounter his first Daedric Prince in the next chapter.

Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

_Summary:_ Disguised as the cold and brooding Archmage, Arragorn, Hiccup sets out to heal the one he treasures most on Berk while Toothless, in the form of the man, Volun Nah, befriends Gobber with tales of Hiccup's and his own adventures. Both characters, however, have attracted the unfavorable attention of the Jorgenson father and son, one for his mistrust of the Mage Craft, and the other for his lack of knowledge of other races with darker toned skin.

* * *

**Berk**

**Molag Bal**

* * *

Astrid woke to a horrid smell and the sound of grinding as she opened her eyes.

"Yes, I'm certain that this is the proper mixture." She heard a man's voice, "I know that the ingredients seem odd, but I promise that this will cure any disease once ingested. It won't even take that much."

Astrid turned her head to see the man standing at a table lit by candlelight with Gothi hunched beside him. She was scratching the floor with the tip of her staff rapidly as the man continued his grinding of whatever it was he was working with. It smelled strongly of garlic, whatever it was.

The man chuckled, "Yes, I intend to strain it. Talos only knows how the girl would take swallowing this if I didn't." He said as Gothi let out a quiet laugh of her own. "Ah, that should be enough of the chitin. Now we just need to add it and let the concoction cook down until it turns a deep red." The man said, "In the mean time, I would suggest stringing a few strands of garlic around the village until Henrik and his father can be found."

Gothi bobbed her head and moved away from the man, and smiled when she saw that Astrid's eyes were open. The woman shuffled over and patted her on the shoulder comfortingly before she moved out of the room.

The man turned away from whatever it was that he was brewing, and smiled around a scraggly beard, "Ah, good, you're awake."

"What happened to me?" She asked, her throat feeling incredibly dry. The man strode over to the bedside where a jug of water sat and filled a cup for her. Astrid had to hold the bear skin blanket against her chest to keep her modesty in check while he helped her sit up and drink.

"To answer your question," the man said, "You were bitten by a werebat, which infected you with a disease. The very same disease that killed young Henrik."

"And turned him into a Draugr." Astrid almost spat.

The man shook his head, "Not a Draugr, Astrid, a Vampire." The girl looked confused, "Where I come from, Vampires are, like Draugr, blood drinkers, but they also retain their personalities after the disease runs it course, and kills them. Their bodies remain intact, while a Draugr withers. They can speak, think, and desire things just like any other person, except for the fact that they are undead, blood drinking creatures that fear sunlight, garlic and silver."

"And that's what's happening to me?"

"Not if I can help it," the man said, "Your friend, Hiccup, would never forgive me if I allowed you to turn. And even if you did, I have ways to turn you back into a human."

At the mention of Hiccup the girl all but lit up. "You know Hiccup?"

"You could say that we are quite close," the man said with a small crooked smirk that reminded her of the young man that she missed so dearly, "A month and two weeks ago, he and his friend...washed up on my shores." He chuckled and leaned in close, "Vulon Nah, by the way, is another way of saying 'Night Fury'." Astrid's eyes widened.

Shaking off her surprise the girl pressed further, "Why didn't Hiccup come?"

"He wanted to, believe me, but he was..." the man hesitated, "Well, not quite ready for the blow to the face you promised in your letter."

Embarrassed Astrid sank beneath the covers up to her nose, "...wasn't gonna hit him _that_ hard..."

The man chuckled, "I'm sure you wouldn't have." He smiled, "But you should know something."

"What?"

"He loves you, too." He rose and refilled the cup, "Now then, that brew will have to cook down for a while. In the meantime, I need to speak with the chief about finding Henrik and his father."

"Hajvarr?"

"Yes," Aragorn nodded, "While I hold no hope that he still lives, the fact remains that his son has undoubtedly turned, and may have done so with his father if he managed to stumble upon him." He said, making to girl go impossibly pale, "Newly turned Vampires are ravenous creatures, you see, and a man as large as Hajvarr would keep even a fledgling Vampire sated for an entire night."

"Can you turn them back?" Astrid found herself asking with little hope, "You said that you had ways to do that?"

Aragorn shook his head, "For single Vampire, the ritual requires to aide of a spell, and a soul to be exchanged for their humanity to be restored." The man reached into his belt pouch, pulling out a small, finger-sized crystal as black as pitch. Astrid didn't know why, but the crystal, whatever it was, felt alive and...evil. Aragorn seemed pleased that she was wary of it. "You're right to fear this. This is called a Black Soul Gem. Trapped inside is the soul of a single creature, a troll I happened across when searching for it. Volun was kind enough to kill the creature for me while I trapped it's soul inside of it."

"Why would - ?" Astrid began, but the Mage held up his hand.

"Because the alternative would be for me to trap a human soul inside of it in exchange." He said much to her horror, "A sentient soul is needed to change a Vampire back into a human. A troll is semi-sentient, but still just animal enough that I felt no guilt in taking it's soul." He said, frowning, Hiccup remembering the fact that it had attacked them out of nowhere, unprovoked and followed them back to the castle. "Trolls may have a small amount of a sentient soul inside of them, but they are blackhearted beasts. Even when well fed, they live to kill."

"And you'd replace my soul with that creature's?" Astrid felt revolted, but Aragorn threw his head back and laughed.

"By Talos no! I could never do something like that!" He laughed, "No, when the ritual is preformed, the Vampire is normally cast into the Oblivion plains, what your people would call Hel. But to cast the Vampire out, and leave the human soul intact, another must take its place. Hence the need for this crystal." He rose and tucked the gem back into his pouch. "Now, you will need to rest a little longer before the potion can be brewed and drank. Take this time to eat something if you think you can stomach it, but don't force yourself."

Astrid laid back in her bed, feeling drained. The man strode toward the door as he set his hood up, "Aragorn?"

"Hmm?" The man turned.

"When will Hiccup come back?" Astrid asked, feeling sleep all of a sudden.

Her eyes drooped as the man opened the door, letting light into the room. "When he becomes strong enough to slay Jörmungandr."

[_Jörmungandr_?] She thought sleepily. [_The giant dragon_?]

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Spitelout's frown could have been any deeper even if he had tried when he saw the so called Archmage leaving Gothi's hut. A pair of foreigners was bad enough in his mind, but the fact that one of them was a dark-skinned son of Loki, and the other was a practitioner of _seiðr_ was beyond anything the chieftain's half-brother could stand. But apparently the loss of his son had driven his chieftain mad. That was the only explanation to any reason he would allow such...creatures onto his island and into his village.

"Unnatural devils," he muttered in disgust.

His son had been in the right when antagonizing the dark one. Anyone could see that one with skin so dark had been touched by some form of seiðr. And the _witch_ had probably been the one to do it. What was worse, both of them claimed to know that fool of a nephew of his!

He had finally been rid of that pest, and had been close to making his move on becoming the chief, if not making his son the new heir of Berk. But those plans had been all but crushed thanks to that Hofferson wench that had spurned his son's advances at every turn. He had been close to taking care of that himself, but she had woken up far too soon for him to formalize everything, effectively trapping her as his son's wife. Jorgenson women were obedient and silent, as she would have been after the wedding.

Of course, now, she had all but condemned his son as a liar, and a fool. When she had fallen ill from the werebat's bite, he had hoped that that would end her meddling, but now he had these foreigners to deal with.

Difficult in that the witch had ingratiated himself with Stoick, and the dark one had taken to Gobber's company. Crippled he may have been, but the wily old blacksmith was still fierce in battle, and well-liked by the village. Questions would be raised if he suddenly turned up dead. And killing him would be difficult for even him to do considering the man was probably as strong as the chief.

As far as brute strength went, he was beaten by two men in the village; his own blood kin and that crippled blacksmith!

"Dad." Snotlout called out for his attention. The man turned a lazy eye on his son, frowning as the boy still held an overconfident smirk that was misplaced. Oh, how he wanted to beat it out of him. But even that wouldn't make the boy realize the situation he was in.

"What is it, boy?" Spitelout asked.

The boy's smirk fell at his father's tone, "Aren't we going to do something about those two strangers?"

Spitelout rolled his eyes, "What can we do, boy?" He asked, voicing his own thoughts, "They have the chief's ear, as that blasted girl does, more so since they claim to know that useless twig of a son of his." He sneered, "And you're no match for Gobber, and I'm not so certain that that dark one is weak." He grumbled as he remembered how Volun carried himself.

He stepped quick and lightly with the grace of a panther on the prowl. The man, young as he appeared, was a warrior. Probably a deadly one at that given how heavy his mace looked. And that armor. He had never seen a Dragon with scales such as those. Possibly a foreign breed that was native to whatever hellhole they both crawled from.

And then there was the witch's magic. His staff was probably more powerful than a blade, but that didn't mean he couldn't slip a blade in between his ribs if things got heated. The very idea nearly brought a smile to the Jorgenson elder's face.

"So what do we do? We can't just let them have the run of the village, can we?" Snotlout whined as he recalled his first encounter with the duo. His dislike of Volun only grew as the day wore on.

"Of course, not, you fool," his father snapped, "But doing anything against them would only draw attention to us. Then where would we be? Banished, Outcast? Is that what you want?"

"No, I want to be chief!" Snotlout said.

"Then you have to be careful, smart, and _patient_, boy." Spitelout said, "Your mistakes with Astrid have already damaged out family name badly enough, and the whole debacle with Gobber yesterday concerning that dark one only made things worse as it made us look like cowards."

"But I'm no coward!" Snotlout protested.

Spitelout rounded on him as if to strike him, and the boy immediately yelped, "Not the face! Not the face!"

"Fool!" His father spat, "No coward, indeed!" He turned away in disgust, "Come along, Stoick is calling for a meeting to deal with this _Vampire_ nonsense."

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Toothless and Hiccup, in their disguises, felt more than out of place as the village came together to figure out what to do about the threat that had come to their island.

"Should we really be here?" Toothless asked of the young Mage in disguise, "I feel like I'm attending a funeral pyre."

Hiccup nodded whispered back, "I was never allowed to attend these sort of meetings myself, either, but D-er- the chief _did_ invite us." He said, "Besides, no one knows who we really are, so we shouldn't have to worry _too_ much."

"Speak for yourself," the former Dragon growled as he cast a glare toward the Jorgenson father and son duo, "Is that buffoon really your blood kin?"

Hiccup flicked his hood up, hiding his face underneath the shadow of the cowl, and adopted his Archmage persona once more as the meeting began. Stoick thumped the table with a large hammer to get everyone's attention. "Alright, listen up everyone!" He roared over the din, "I need all of you to know what's going on."

"You can start by explaining why you let foreigners on the island," Spitelout shouted loudly to his half-brother, "One of them even practices Seiðr!"

The man's words brought forth a low murmur of worry throughout the hall while many cast fearful glances at the unusual pair that was Aragorn and Vulon Nah.

Stoick glared right back at his brother, "Foreigners they may be, Spitelout, but that man's magic saved the life our best warrior." He said just as much to Spitelout as to the rest of the gathering. "Even now his potion is brewing to chase the plague that was brought to this island away. Gothi has vouched for it's potency."

"A withered, senile hag close to death." Someone toward the back said, and Hiccup recognized the voice as Snotlout trying to sound more mature. "How could a potion brewed by a witch save a life?"

Vulon leaned in again as the crowd muttered in agreement, "He's sparked a fire, my friend."

Hiccup agreed, and decided to stomp it out before it roared out of control. Aragorn strode forward in front of the crowd and stood next to Stoick. He took a small bottle of red liquid from his cloak. He showed it to the chief and the people of Berk, "This is one of my healing potions. If you doubt its power, then I will show you what it can do." He bared his right arm, rolling up his sleeve, "Let anyone come forth and slice my wrist. The potion will heal me. No Magic required."

Spitelout himself looked ready to rush forward just to slice his arm clean off, but Phlegma the Fierce beat him to it. She was followed closely by Dagur, who now wore the glowing sword Dawnbreaker at his side.

"You're sure about this?" Phlegma asked, "If I cut too deeply, then - "

Aragorn shook his head, "I do not care for pain, but if my abilities and intentions are in question, then I'll do whatever it takes to prove myself to you." He said, nodding to the woman, "Make your cut."

Toothless had to hold himself back from hurling himself at the woman as she drew her dagger and ghosted it across Hiccup's skin. Blood pooled from the wound and dripped to the floor. It was a deep wound. A deadly wound that would bleed him dry within minutes. Spitelout smiled thinly at this. [_The fool's allowed himself to be killed!_]

However, Aragorn was calm as ever as his uncorked the bottle, and poured it over his bleeding wound for all to see. A visible cloud of steam rose up from his skin as the blood dripping from his arm bubbled and fizzled from the potion. The bleeding stopped almost as soon as the first drop hit his skin. Then the wound knit itself back together, leaving a small almost unnoticeable scar.

Spitelout had to bite his tongue to keep his disappointment from surfacing.

Aragorn held his arm up, "Do you still doubt?"

Stoick shook his head, "I, for one, do not." He sighed, "You can call it Magic or Seiðr, but he's done nothing to harm us. He came here because my son, whom he claims is his apprentice, requested it."

"He should be Outcast!" Hiccup winced. He knew that voice. The old wraith of a man looked thinner than he himself had on his best days. He was the village's traditionalist, as well as the most unpleasant of them all, more so than his cousin and uncle. The man was Mildew the Vile. A man who wouldn't hesitate to throw his own child into the sea if he or she was born small and weak such as the chieftain's son had been.

The man hobbled forward leaning heavily on his staff that was decorated with Dragon teeth and claws from his days as a warrior. "He's abandoned us, therefore, by tribal law, he is no longer a part of the Hooligan tribe." Mildew stated loudly.

"Do not speak to me about laws, Mildew," Stoick growled, "Were it not for my kindness, you would have been Outcast long ago. You were once an honorable warrior, yet here you stand, old, crippled and bitter because you did not fall in battle. No one here wants to grant you the mercy of killing you, and would rather see you off the island instead."

"He's right, though," Snotlout shouted again. "Hiccup abandoned us all!"

Before Stoick could speak, Vulon's black mace slammed into the table. The young man himself looked furious. Vulon's acid green eyes scanned the crowd, looking for whomever had spoken.

"I dare anyone to speak against Hiccup again," the former Dragon snarled, "If you have anything more to say, say it to my mace, and meet me outside. I'll kill you where you stand!" He pulled the mace free of the wood with a crackling splinter as chunks of it fell away. "Where I am from, being born small means nothing but growing stronger all the quicker. We do not condemn those born weak, we lift them up so that they can become strong." He looked at Stoick. "Yes, Hiccup left this island, but he did not abandon you all. He left because his tricks would not be enough to kill a Dragon."

"Aye, we've seen it," Stoick nodded. "Most of what Astrid learned from him just put Dragons to sleep, or scared them away."

"So he was weak, just like always," Snotlout shouted.

"Weak?" Aragorn muttered, Hiccup feeling angered by his cousin, "Weak would have been giving in to everyone that doubted him, and giving up. Yet he didn't. He kept trying," he felt lighter somehow as he spoke, as if he was taking a great weight from his chest. "How often did any of you offer to help him? He spoke fondly of the blacksmith, Gobber, and how he looked up to his father, but no one else seemed to care enough to even look at him save the Lady Astrid."

"I only wanted him safe," Stoick frowned. "He's all I have left."

Hiccup had to keep himself from choking, "He knows that," Aragorn said softly, "He once told me that all he ever wanted to be was useful to you, and by coming to me, he's bringing Magic back int the world. If that is wrong in the eyes of the Jorgensons then so be it."

"Well spoken," Stoick nodded, "But to the matter at hands." He turned his attention back to the people of Berk, "You all know that young Henrik lost his life not two days ago, and not a single night after his death, he rose again." He waited to let his words sink in as many of his tribe looked horrified. "We thought that he had become a Draugr, but the precautions we took against that happening did nothing to stop him from rising." He frowned, "Hajvarr, being the boy's father, felt responsible for putting him down, and giving him a proper burial."

"However," Aragorn interjected, "What happened to young Henrik wasn't that he became a Draugr, but something far worse."

"What's worse than a Draugr?" Someone piped up.

"A creature called a Vampire," Aragorn went on, "Like a Draugr, they hunger for blood, but blood only. The body physically dies, and freezes the infected at the moment of their death, keeping them as they were."

Spitelout scoffed, "If the boy shows up, then we'll just send him to Hel as it should've been."

Hiccup sneered internally at the man for his lack of sympathy for the poor boy. He knew that Hajvarr and his son were a distant relation to Dagur since Hajvarr's father had come from the Berserker tribe. "You'll find that hard to do," Aragorn grumbled. "When turned a Vampire has many powers that no human, Mage or otherwise can hope to replicate."

"A beast is a beast," Spitelout retorted, "It can be caught just like any other."

Aragorn stepped toward the man, "Can you catch mist? Can you catch wind?" He demanded as the man's frowned deepened. "Because that's what you'll be fighting. A Vampire is a master of the night. A moment is all it would need to change into mist, or disappear from sight as fast as the wind. And that's not even including the fact that their strength is ten times that of a mortal man."

Spitelout sneered, "Isn't that why you're here, _Völva_?"

"I'm here to heal, and to help," Aragorn said as he thumped his staff on the floor, "But if your _chief_ asks me to leave, then I won't tarry."

Dagur scoffed, "We all know that he won't ask you to leave, yet," he said, smirking at the towering chief of Berk, "Personally, I think you've been a great help, if anything, you've helped my friend's flame recover, or will."

"And I believe that he is the only one that can handle the creature that poor little Henrik, and possibly his father, has become." Stoick said casting a withering glare at his half-brother. "We know nothing of such things, even Draugr that are part of our own history. We're not equipped to fight something like that."

"And they are?" Spitelout scoffed.

In his guise, Hiccup had finally had enough of his uncle's fearful ramblings as he let his magic run wild.

"ENOUGH!" Aragorn slammed the butt of his staff against the floor as flames erupted around him. Stoick stepped back from the man as the flames continued up his body, "If you think yourself strong enough, or even stupidly brave enough to take on a creature such as a Vampire, then by all means, walk out that door, and meet your death by their fangs!" The Mage snapped angrily as he stepped forward the Jorgenson. "But should you fail, and be bitten by them, you should pray that you don't turn, because if you do, then I'll burn you to ash!"

Spitelout was sweating furiously as he fought to keep himself rooted to the ground as the angered Mage advanced on him, but on the inside the man was mentally screaming for his life.

The unnatural Völva was going to incinerate him!

Before the Archmage could do any harm, however, Vulon's hand came up and clamped down on the man's flaming shoulder. He winced as the flames licked at his armored hand, but kept his grip firm. "Aragorn." He rumbled dangerously, "We came to help them, not frighten them."

Aragorn glared at him, lost in his emotional storm, but was calmed when those draconian eyes narrowed. His shook his head to clear his mind as the flames receded. "Forgive me." He sighed, turning to the chief, "It seems I'm in need of better control of myself. If you'll excuse me?"

Stoick, having been dazed by the display of rage and power, shook himself, and nodded, "You need no excuse, just some fresh air." He agreed, casting a glare at his half-brother, "I know that Spitelout can be hard to handle."

"Indeed." Aragorn nodded in agreement before striding from the hall. No one made a move to stop him.

Vulon, surprisingly, stayed behind, his arms crossed as he nursed his singed hand. He cast an icy glare around the hall, "Does anyone wish to question if we're equipped to hunt this nightmare down?" He demanded, his eyes landing on Spitelout and his son, "The longer I stay in this village, the more I see no reason for Hiccup to return. If he didn't care so much for Astrid and his father, then I doubt we'd be here right now...keep that in mind." Finally, he left the council chambers.

Stoick growled as he glared at his brother once more, "Spitelout, you've overstepped your boundaries too much." He growled, and pointed at the pair, "One more slip up, and I'll not think twice about Ousting you from Berk!"

"You can't d-bffmph!" Snotlout started but was throttled by his father as the man turned around and left the hall with him in tow.

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Toothless found his friend deep in the forest, far from the village, his disguise abandoned as he became Hiccup once more. "Aren't you afraid someone'll see you?" The former Dragon asked as he came upon his friend.

Hiccup, his head hung low, only sighed, "What difference does it make?" He asked with a shake of his head, and gestured back toward the village, "You saw all that back there, didn't you? My uncle and idiot cousin are gonna have a riot going before the day's out after that little outburst of mine!"

Toothless shook his head, "He had it coming ten times over, Hiccup, and you know it," he shrugged his shoulders, "If I were still with my flight, and one of them acted like that, then the Alpha would have chased him off a long time ago." He growled, "His son's no different. Matter of fact, I think he's a few fish short of a full basket."

Hiccup snorted at his friend's analogy, "Well, you're not wrong there."

"And they won't dare bother you again after that display of dominance," Toothless said, "They needed to be put in their place. Even if you're not here as yourself, _Aragorn_ is still trying to help on your behalf. Why can't they see passed that?"

Hiccup sighed, "In our tribe...with our people, Magic in general is frowned upon." He said, "Usually it's reserved for the wise women, or shamans but we haven't seen or heard of one of those in so long that even I'd thought they were just folk tales."

"Gothi's a wise woman, isn't she?" Toothless put in.

"Gothi's the village healer, and an honored elder among our tribe," Hiccup pointed out, "She grew up here, learning the ways of healing from our people, probably from her mother, so the people all know her."

"And Aragorn is a stranger from a strange land," Toothless sighed, "See, this is what I was talking about before we left." He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I know you didn't want to be forced to stay, but maybe coming here as yourself in the beginning would have been better?"

"No, you heard Mildew, and Snotlout," the boy said to his friend, "I, apparently, abandoned the village, so I'm no longer seen as one of them."

Toothless knelt in front of his friend and gripped his shoulders, "Hiccup, you're not one of them," he shook his head, "You never were." He sat beside him, "Think about it, all of these people, your mate included, fight with weapons, but you? You fight with your mind, but no one wants to see you do that because it's different."

"Wow, that's...like the worst pep talk...ever." Hiccup grunted as Toothless punched him in the shoulder. "Ow."

"You also didn't kill me when you had me tangled up in your bolas," Toothless reminded him, "And after all the time we've been together, do you regret that choice?"

Hiccup looked at his friend, "I could never regret that," he sighed, "You're probably the best friend I've ever had, and then there's Sharpshooter...all of my friends are Dragons...you're right, I'm not - "

"Mister Aragorn?"

Both young men were up in a flash as Toothless stood in front of Hiccup while he cast his spell to conceal his identity once more. "Who's there?!" Vulon Nah growled.

"It's me," said a rotund boy as he came shuffling out of the trees, "Fishlegs Ingerman? We were just in the council hall together."

Vulon relaxed, "Haven't had the pleasure." He said as the boy came forward, "What do you want with us?" While not openly hostile, the former Dragon was not ready to trust anyone from Berk outside of Hiccup.

Fishlegs looked around the large dark-skinned warrior, and spotted Aragorn with his back to him, "Mister Aragorn..."

"What is it you want?" The man asked frostily, making the boy flinch, "We have a monster to hunt."

Fishlegs sighed sadly as he looked down at his feet, "Look, Sir, I...I know that it won't mean much coming from me, but...I...I apologize on behalf of my village." His said with a bow of his head. "I've read so many books about Mages and such that I've always wanted to meet one...I just didn't think that my village would be so afraid of you."

"There's much more to fear than just _me_, Master Ingerman," Aragorn said with a shake of his head, "If I don't stop this plague from spreading, your village will not stand a chance."

"And I agree with you, I _do_," Fishlegs said, "But you need to be careful. Snotlout may be an idiot, but Spitelout's about as cunning as a fox. He wants the title of chief, and he'll stop at nothing to get it." He said, "I miss Hiccup a lot, maybe not as much as Astrid does, but I _liked_ his inventions. I thought he had the right idea on a lot of them, but Snotlout always convinced the twins to mess with them just before he showed them off."

Inside, Hiccup burned with rage, "They sabotaged m- er- him?"

"They did," Fishlegs nodded, having not caught his near fatal slip, thankfully, "Tuffnut was all for it, most of the time, but Ruffnut had to be convinced a lot of the times because she and Astrid are friends." He sighed, "And Astrid's been sweet on Hiccup for a long time. _That_ right there's a a big reason Snotlout's so set on becoming chief himself. He thinks he could take any woman in the village he wanted."

"You're more likely to become chief than he is," Vulon scoffed loudly, "That buffoon couldn't find his own ass if it was staring at him!"

Fishlegs shook his head, "I wouldn't live long if I became the heir," he sighed, "Like I said, Spitelout wants the title, even if he has to use _Snotlout_ to get it."

Aragorn let out a puffy white breath as he took in the boy's words. [_I never knew my uncle was such a power hungry...what?_...] He breathed out again, his breath coming out in a white puff once more. The man looked around and noticed that the ferns and low lying bushes were beginning to frost over. "What...?"

"Aragorn." Vulon growled as he reached for his mace. "Something's out here."

The Archmage nodded, "Fishlegs, go back to the village and tell Dagur that our prey is nearby."

Fishlegs, thoroughly spooked by the sudden freeze, nodded and hurried back toward the hall.

Heavy footsteps crunched through underbrush. "That doesn't sound like a small human," Hiccup muttered nervously as his staff began to glow.

"Or a large human," Vulon licked his lips, his canines glinting.

What walked out of the forest was something Hiccup had only seen in the books he had read in Solitude's library.

The creature was well over ten feet tall with skin a dark, icy blue on legs bent double with three-toed claws on each foot. Swaying behind the beast was a long whip-like tail that kept the balance of a massive upper body. Arms as thick a young oak carried a wicked mace. The face was a mixture of human and something neither warrior or mage could think of except that it was hideously framed by two bull-like horns growing on either side of its head.

"How is this possible?" Aragorn growled, "You were banished!"

"**And yet here I stand, False Mage**," the creature spoke with a jeering tone, "**In no small part thanks to these...Berkian fools.**" It smiled as it pointed to what remained of a facial shape on its torso. "**The boy and his father provided just what I needed to force my way back into this realm.**"

Fire erupted from his staff, "You won't be staying!" The flames shot from the staff and engulfed the massive creature.

But it merely laughed, "**I am amused, False Mage, to see how you would stand against the King of Cold Harbor.**" He raised his mace, "**Amuse me more!**"

* * *

H.T.T.Y.D

* * *

Well, finally got that done. Tell me what you liked about it.


End file.
